DUSHANBE, January 27, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Media Council’s ranking of Tajik media sources in terms of implementation of ethical principles may lead to split within the country’s journalism community, Akbarali Sattorov, the head of Tajik Journalists’ Union (TJU), told Asia-Plus Monday afternoon.

““The Media Council has the right to conduct any type of monitoring, but it does not have the right to assess the work of media sources in such manner,” TJU head noted, adding that readers but not “separate categories of specialists” give the main assessment to the work of media outlets.

We will recall that the Media Council last week announced the results of survey conducted by it among the country’s print and electronic media.

There are 43 print and ten electronic media included in the ranking.  The Media Council breaks the media sources in three categories based on implementation of ethical principles: “healthy”; “oscillating”; and “unhealthy”.

The survey referred to newspapers Nigoh , Rouzgor , Farazh , Ozodagon , Adabiyot va Sanat , Asia-Plus as well as magazines Bonuvon, Cahshma, and Navnihol as “healthy” media outlets.

Sadoi Mardum , Narodnaya Gazeta , Imrouz-News , Monbari Khalq , Tojikiston , Charkhi Gardoun , SSSR , Millat , and Manu Tu were ranked as “oscillating” media sources.

The “unhealthy media” category included Jumhiriyat , Oila , Muhababt va Oila , and Zan va Mard .  The Media Council notes in its survey that these newspapers “are full of lies and abasement of human honor and dignity.”