Mandate of the Clearinghouse for Public Statements
1. Statements will be guided by, and restricted to, the IAMCR remit. They will focus on media/communication issues and reflect IAMCR's critical position.
The clearinghouse will process statements and/or manage the process of signing statements generated by others when these focus on issues that are principally concerned with matters related to media/communications, and where IAMCR members have substantive scientific expertise that provides a basis for seeking to influence discourse or practice. An indicative list includes:
- Infrastructure and online services, including content and access;
- Corporate, government, intergovernmental, policy, regulation and broader issues of governance including communicative rights, right to information, freedom of expression, privacy, protections from surveillance, information integrity and responsible AI;
- Working conditions of media and communication scholars and media practitioners.
2. Statements may be responses to immediate events (reactive) or prepared for forthcoming events (proactive).
No statements will be authorised by the Clearinghouse without agreement by the IAMCR President.
3. Some issues may be so contentious or divisive that there is unlikely to be a consensus. Any statement proposed will take into account a wide range of arguments or positions before finalising a proposed statement. Clearinghouse members acknowledge that, in exceptional cases, they may wish to recommend a multi-voiced statement that acknowledges the existence of diverging views.
4. Statements can originate from the Clearinghouse, from IAMCR entities (Executive Board, International Council, Committees, Task Forces, Sections, or Working Groups), and from individual members.
5. Global, regional and national issues will be considered.
The Clearinghouse interprets global, regional and national as meaning that requests for statements will be considered where they fall within the remit of the Clearinghouse, even though they may be of local concern to IAMCR members.
For further information, read the Clearinghouse's Working Procedures.