World Press Freedom Day 2008
02 May 2008
Venue: Frontline Club, 13 Norfolk Place, London
A range of media experts will assemble to debate the motion “New Media is Killing Journalism” to mark World Press Freedom Day 2008.
Speakers
- Andrew Keen: Author, The Cult of the Amateur
- Kim Fletcher: Ex-Editor, Telegraph & Independent on Sunday
- Robin Lustig: Radio broadcaster, BBC Radio 4 & BBC World Service
- Nazenin Ansar: Kayhan Publishing Iran/UK, President of the Foreign Press Association
- Chair: William Horsley, Chair, Association of European Journalists, UK
The winner of the Student Journalism Competition is Stuart James Ross who won for his podcast entry arguing that “far from killing journalism, new media is helping it to flourish.” The winning piece explored the implications of changing technology through a series of interviews with a media professional, blogger and a human rights campaigner. Mr Ross will be presented with the John Ivinson Memorial Prize for Freedom of Expression and its £500 prize at the opening of the WPFD event on 2 May.
REPORT
In an Oxford Union style debate the speakers passionately debated journalism’s future in the digital age with the audience voting three to one that journalism is alive and well.
Some commentators such as Robin Lustig recognised that new media is a challenge to journalism but flatly denied that such a challenge was leading to the profession’s demise. Rather, the internet may be seen as the next step in a long history of evolving journalism tools.
Commentators from Iran and Mexico stressed the importance of new media to the profession in the many countries where journalists are threatened, censured and even killed. Rather than threatening journalism, in these cases new media allows the trade to exist and develop in a way never before possible. Many supporters of the motion pointed to the economic issues it raised, namely that the new media model was forcing journalists to produce masses of “content”, detracting from their ability to provide quality, accurate news.
The debate was attended by nearly 100 participants, and speakers including Jeremy Dear (NUJ), Nicholas Jones (previous BBC correspondent), Charlie Beckett (Director of POLIS), John Kelly (Reuters Institute Visiting Fellow, Washington Post) and Ashley Norris, (Co-founder and Director of Shiny Media), providing compelling statements drawn from a wealth and range of professional experience.
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, making it particularly fitting that we recall its 19th Article on this Wold Press Freedom Day. While our commitment to freedom of expression remains unchanged, the context of this right, particularly through advances in media and communication technologies, has changed drastically over the past six decades.
The event was opened with the presentation of this year’s World Press Freedom Day student journalism competition award to Stuart James Ross for his podcast entry arguing that “far from killing journalism, new media is helping it to flourish.” The winning piece explored the implications of changing technology through a series of interviews with a media professional, blogger and a human rights campaigner. Mr Ross was presented with the John Ivinson Memorial Prize for Freedom of Expression and its £500 prize at the opening of the WPFD event on 2 May.
