With the 32nd SEA Games kicking off on May 5, Minister of Information Khieu Kanharith requested that journalists who cover both the event abide by rules and laws adopted by the SEA Games community.
At an April 29 press conference to open the Information Centre for the SEA Games, Kanharith said that it is important for journalists to obey the rules and laws when covering the event because they are expected to project a good image of Cambodia as host.
“Photographing and covering the games will make the sporting events explode in interest and show the pride of Cambodia as a whole. Therefore, without media coverage, 50 per cent of the success would be lost,” he added.
He also requested that all journalists contact the Information Centre to address any challenges that may arise during their attempts to provide coverage of the games.
He stated that all accommodation and meals would be provided to journalists free of charge as would the video feeds and broadcast rights for the events to any media outlets from anywhere in ASEAN or the world to show as much of the games as they would like free of charge.
Nhean Toy Yokhor, an information adviser at the Cambodia SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC) and an expert on Olympic information in Asia, said that there are some rules for journalists to cover the SEA Games.
She said journalists have to work in line with SEA Games standards. They also have to comply with Article 53 of the Southeast Asian Games Federation and regulations in force in Cambodia and follow the CAMSOC guidelines.
Phos Sovann, head of the Dissemination and Information Committee for CAMSOC, said that for the SEA Games, they have issued 2,095 cards to journalists. Of those, there are 1,188 Cambodian journalists covering the events and the rest are ASEAN or international reporters.
