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ETHICS
IN ADVERTISING FORUM
Report amd highlights of 1-day
Forum held on 1 Oct 2002
Presented by Lawrence Chan (CEO of Novacomm Integrated), Jessica Binwani
(Legal advisor of the Consumers' Association of Penang [CAP]), Rev. Clarence
Devadass (Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of KL) and moderated by Dr.
M. Nadarajah
Children
easily influenced by advertising
Children
are easily influenced by advertising. Lawrence Chan, who spoke at the
forum on Ethics in Advertising held on 1 Oct. at Cahayasuara Communications
Centre, KL, said that "advertising to children is an ethical issue and
how we communicate to them is important."
The forum discussion included women, children and regulatory mechanisms
in Malaysian advertising.
The forum, which brought together views from the corporate, public and
Church sectors, was organised by Cahayasuara, the communications department
of the Catholic Archdiocese of KL. According to Lawrence John, director
of Cahayasuara, the forum was intended to enable participants to become
more critical, appreciative and discriminative consumers of the media.
Chan, who heads Novacomm Integrated, one of Malaysia's larger local integrated
communications agencies, noted that children do not possess the necessary
skills to evaluate advertising messages. "They are impressionable and
imaginative, and their imagination should not be exploited. So there is
a need to regulate advertising to children," he said.
Chan said that the new Multimedia Content Code, which will be self-regulating
in nature, would help address the concerns of all sectors of society,
including parents.
He said that advertisements could educate and teach positive values like
honesty, justice, respect and friendship to children. "We try to show
these values in advertisements," said Chan.
An unethical advertisement is one in which children are used to promote
products that children do not need. This was stated by Jessica Binwani,
another speaker at the Forum. She said that junk food is an example of
such products.
"Children are modelled for unrelated products, such as handphones and
electrical products, which may also be dangerous to them," said Binwani,
a legal adviser for the Consumers' Association of Penang (CAP). She said
that children are used in advertisements to convince parents to buy the
product.
"A mother feels she has failed her child if she doesn't buy it. They [advertising
agencies] use the parent's desire to get the best for the child," she
said.
Binwani said that advertisements convey the message that if parents don't
get the product for their child, they haven't done enough. "Cereals, milk
powders and food supplements tell you your child will become smarter if
they consume that product," she said.
This
sentiment was echoed by another speaker, Rev. Clarence Devadass, who said
that advertising which exploits children's credulity and suggestibility
is unethical.
"Such advertising offends the dignity and rights of children and parents,
for it intrudes into the child-parent relationship," added Rev. Devadass,
who quoted from the document Ethics in Advertising, issued by the
Vatican in 1997.
Rev. Devadass, a Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of KL, is pursuing
his PhD in Theology, majoring in Christian Ethics.
Quoting an earlier Church document, he said that it is an "imperative
requirement that advertising respect the human person, the right to make
a choice, the interior freedom of the person, and the human capacity to
reflect and decide."
Summing
up the Forum, moderator Dr. M. Nadarajah, a sociologist, noted that the
speakers and participants had called for a regulatory body, such as the
United Kingdom model, which is independent and has legal clout, for greater
consumer protection, in anticipation of increased globalisation.
The Forum was attended by representatives from consumer associations,
staff of advertising agencies, mass communication students and interested
individuals."
__________________________________________________________________________________
Cahayasuara
made available the document Ethics in Advertising to forum
participants.
To obtain copies, call
(603) 2078 0912 • E-mail: ccckl@po.jaring.my
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CINEMA
FORUM: The Sixth Sense : 24
Sept 2002
STARRING: Bruce Willis - Haley
Joel Osment - Donnie Wahlberg - Toni Collette
Date:
Tuesday, 24 September 2002
Time: 7 pm - 10 pm
Venue: Auditorium, Cahayasuara Communications Centre, 5 Jalan Robertson,
Pudu, 50150 KL
(next to St. Anthony's Church)
FREE
ADMISSION • LARGE-SCREEN THEATRE PROJECTION
SYNOPSIS
In
M. Night Shyamalan's THE SIXTH SENSE, Bruce Willis plays Dr. Malcolm Crowe,
a successful Philadelphia child psychologist who is haunted by the sudden
reappearance and suicide of a former patient. Months later, Dr. Crowe
encounters Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a troubled, withdrawn young
boy who bears a striking resemblance to his earlier patient. Dr. Crowe
is compelled to help Cole, not only for the boy's sake, but for his own
redemption.
As
Dr. Crowe struggles to determine what torments Cole, he must also come
to terms with his increasingly distant relationship with his wife (Olivia
Williams). Meanwhile, Cole is unable to describe the horrible things he
sees even to his worried mother (Toni Collette). The scene where Cole
finally tells Dr. Crowe about his supernatural secret is one of the 1990s
most quoted and well-known cinematic moments.
A gripping ghost story with a stunning finale, this film features Oscar-nominated
performances by the startlingly intense Osment and the fiercely maternal
Collette, as well as a subtle, subdued turn by Willis. Shyamalan directs
his intriguing script with almost clinical precision, using carefully
framed visuals to create the film's distinctively chiling atmosphere.
______________________________________________________________________
For
further information, contact:
Canute • Tel: (603) 2078 0912 • E-mail: ccckl@po.jaring.my
CAHAYASUARA
CINEMA FORUM SERIES - Exploring film values in an effort to become more
critical, appreciative and discriminative users of the media
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PASTORING
IN A MEDIA ENVIRONMENT:
Seminar on Social Communications for Final-Year Seminarians
Report and highlights of the
Seminar held on 20 - 25 Sept 2002
The six-day seminar organised and held at Cahayasuara Communications Centre
covered major topics including Church & Social Communications, Human
Communication, Media & Consumer Behaviour, Parish Communications Ministry,
Multimedia Pastoring, etc.
IN
BRIEF
Day One:
The participants were welcomed, and a session on Feedback and Expectations/Briefing
was conducted. An Exposure Trip
to other media centres was organised.
Day
Two:
Participants were presented with 5 sessions:
-
Church and Social Communication by E. Samson
- Ethics in Communication by Fr. Clarence Dass
- Human Communication by Canute J.
- Press/Radio/TV/Film/Internet by Canute J.
- Media and Consumer Behaviour by Lawrence John
Day
Three:
Participants had some free time and were then presented with sessions
6 and 7:
- Church and Information Technology
by Dr. Bernie Wong
- Media & Popular Culture by Richard Chia
Day
Four:
Sessions 8 - 12:
- Interpersonal & Group Communication I by Paul Selva Raj
-
Interpersonal & Group Communication II by
Paul Selva Raj
- Catholic Newspaper: Herald by Fr. Lawrence Andrew
- The Media Situation in Malaysia held at University Malaya by Terence
Gomez
- Multimedia Pastoring by Paul Anthony
Day
Five:
Sessions 13 - 17:
- Media Regulation & Censorship by Leonard Teoh
- Advertising by Lawrence Chan
- Parish Communications Ministry bby Michael Raj
- Church & Public Relations by Tony Nathan
- Film Appreciation - Film Forum by E. Samson
Day
Six:
After the final session on Media & Globalisation by Charles Santiago,
the seminar ended with a session on Evaluation & Feedback and the
presentation of Certificates to the participants.
______________________________________________________________________
For
further information, contact:
Canute • Tel: (603) 2078 0912 • E-mail: ccckl@po.jaring.my
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F o r u m
EDITED
FILM VERSIONS - FOR FORUM DISCUSSIONS
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
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MOVIE
TRIBUTE TO MOTHER TERESA: In the Name of God's Poor
in conjunction with her beatification on 19 Oct 2003
SCREENING: 17 OCT 2003 (FRI)
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F o r u m
EDITED
FILM VERSIONS - FOR FORUM DISCUSSIONS
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY
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P r o d u c t
i o n
THEIVA
KULANTHAI TAMIL CHRISTMAS SONGS - Available now on CD & Cassette!
Produced by Cahayasuara Communications Centre • Recorded
& Mastered at Cahayasuara Digital Studio • Songs from the 60s
& 80s
Producer: Paul
Anthony • Featuring
23 Talents from various churches in the Archdiocese of KL
Call
(03) 2078 0912 or George at 016-280 7618 to order.
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