Damascus, Jan.15 (SANA) The Syrian Journalists Union on Thursday condemned Shams TV’s refusal to broadcast an interview it conducted with President Ahmad al-Sharaa, saying the move constitutes a breach of professional media standards.
In a statement, the union said it viewed with “great disapproval” the channel’s decision to withhold the interview while airing a televised statement justifying the move on grounds described as “social calming.”
The union said that while social calm is a legitimate societal objective, it does not professionally justify withholding a completed journalistic work and replacing it with a unilateral interpretation of its content, particularly when the interview concerns a sovereign matter of public interest.
It stressed that the primary role of media outlets in such cases is to transmit content in its original form and enable audiences to access it directly and form their own opinions freely, without guardianship or selectivity.
The union added that replacing original journalistic material with a prior description or evaluation of its content undermines professional standards, obscures the source of information, and limits the right of both Kurdish and Arab audiences to knowledge, assessment and accountability, opening the door to uncontrolled interpretation.
It emphasized that the media, especially when covering sensitive national issues, is required to adhere to the highest levels of professionalism and impartiality, serving as a bridge for conveying messages rather than a tool for directing or reshaping them based on non-journalistic considerations.
The union called on Shams TV’s management to reconsider this approach in line with journalistic codes of ethics and the public’s right to access information from its original source, while commending any media efforts that make content available to the public in a balanced manner and help curb misinformation and information monopolization.
The union reaffirmed its commitment to media freedom as a cornerstone of public awareness and rejected all forms of guardianship or restrictions on the right to knowledge under any pretext.
On Wednesday, the Syrian Ministry of Information said in a separate statement that President al-Sharaa chose a Kurdish channel for the interview, despite the availability of numerous local and international outlets, to affirm the status, role and rights of Kurds, noting that relations with them extend beyond organizational frameworks.
The ministry added that, in line with its responsibility to protect the public’s right to knowledge and uphold professional and legal standards governing media work, it reserves the full right to broadcast the interview on its official platforms, describing it as a completed media product for which there is no professional or editorial justification for withholding.
