• Society

Information Ministry Cracks Down on Crooked Journalists

• By Teng Yalirozy
• October 5, 2023 8:30 PM

PHNOM PENH – Information Minister Neth Pheaktra has warned journalists who abuse their positions to extort money that they face legal action and loss of their license.

This follows revelations that staff from between 700 and 900 news outlets had asked for money and had been paid by Top Diamond Casino in Takeo province.

The casino said on Sept. 5 that after the COVID-19 outbreak, the company provided an allowance for journalists passing by the casino.

However, it was impossible for the allowance to be provided anymore as the number of journalists coming was increasing exponentially.

“The company will not provide the allowance anymore. Please, all journalists passing by the casino be informed,” the casino said.

Neth Pheaktra said this incident undermined the professionalism of the journalism sector. Those involved would be held accountable before the law if they refused to turn themselves in.

“Journalists involved in taking money from Top Diamond Casino must report to the General Department of Information and Broadcasting within one month,” he said in a letter dated Oct. 4.

He gave the casino two weeks to hand in the list of media units that had been taking the money.

The ministry also reserved the right to take action against the company that has contributed to weakening the ethics of the media in Cambodia.

Club of Cambodian Journalists (CCJ) president Puy Kea said the club had received complaints about extortion and welcomed the action from the ministry.

He said CCJ would remove any members that were involved with such a case or unprofessional conduct.

“That’s why CCJ advises and trains journalists to perform their work professionally and avoid fraud,” said Kea, urging training for some journalists and punishment for unprofessional self-claimed journalists.

More news but standards in doubt

The number of online news outlets in Cambodia increased by just over 17 percent between 2020 and 2021, the ministry said last year.

The ministry’s count for 2021 suggests an additional 118 online outlets brought the total to 706 news sites and 81 online TV outlets, 23 of which had foreign publishers, 74 of which had women publishers. This is compared to the 669 online media outlets registered in 2020.

Nob Vy, executive director of the Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association, said many trustworthy news sites had been wiped away since the crackdown on the banned CNRP opposition party  and the closure of two major media outlets – Cambodia Daily Khmer and the Phnom Penh bureau of Radio Free Asia – in 2017 before the 2018 national elections.

Since then, Cambodia had fallen from the 132nd to 142nd place in the Reporter Sans Frontières’ press freedom index.

In February, the Voice of Democracy (VOD) was also shut down.

“There are many journalists, but not many can produce useful and trustworthy news content,” he said. “That’s the reason we try to train journalists. However, not only journalists but citizens should also understand the profession.”

Vy said a press council was needed to boost the power of journalists. Foreign journalists also said that it was time for Cambodia to establish a press council as the media landscape is changing towards more online and social network-based media.

Puy Kea of CCJ said the news sector seemed to improve as many news sites contributed to diverse content to serve the needs of the people.

However, problems were created by journalists who did not know how to do their work professionally.