Winds of Change - Media Development Trends and Questions
This blog is based on a presentation from the Athens Global Forum for Media Development Conference, December 8 2008. Responses to the presentation were collected at the Conference and were posted below. Please add your comments as well.
Let me start with the Core Question:
If the Media Development field and community (however you define it) is to further grow and develop, what significant trends will it need to address and/or take advantage of?
Five “starter” answers from my perspective follow; these are drawn from the knowledge and ideas flowing through The CI process.
Trend 1:
The increasingly shrinking difference between a journalist who is on the staff of a recognised media organisation and a citizen reporting the events happening around them.
Who or what are we developing anyway?
Example: Citizen Journalism
Trend 2:
The rapidly changing relationship between the media and its public FROM the definitive and authoritative statement of the most important news and information TO a platform for debate, dialogue, and further public insights on the stories and information in question.
In that context, what new media development skills and aptitudes are required?
Example: Middleberg/SNCR Survey of Journalists Reveals Generational Gap
Trend 3:
Public news and information access trends move FROM: generated by a few trusted and reliable sources; produced as “brand specific” news which is most often local; and consumed in predictable patterns over long time periods – e.g., a TV news show or local newspaper – TO: generated by a broad range of varied sources interacted with throughout the day produced as brand independent news which is not necessarily locally located – e.g., news aggregation processes such as Google news and Daylife.
What are the priority media organisations and processes to whom we should relate?
Example: Media Development and Diversity Agency (MDDA) Support
Trend 4:
An increasingly complex (confusing?) relationship between the principle of a free, independent, and pluralistic media and the realities of: an explosion in media and information sources; the cross-boundary nature of many new media processes; a decline in public service principles; increasing diversity in media models; agenda-led news entities; etc.
In this context how do we now assess the concepts of free, independent and pluralistic?
Example: Tools and Performance Indicators
Trend 5:
Related to the theme of the Global Forum for Media Development Dec 2008 conference - Quality Information for All The Media – in our common understanding of media - are traditional media (i.e., television, radio, newspapers) decreasingly important “players” as digital technology processes – in particular: mobile; organisational web info proliferation combined with accurate, common searches; news scraping and aggregation; social networking; pull not push processes; etc. processes - begin to play much larger roles.
From a quality perspective how do we respond to that trend?
Example: Half of World's Population Has a Mobile
These are just a few thoughts on trends related to what the media development community will need to address and/or take advantage of in order to further grow and develop...what do you think?
Comments
money, philosophy
The 5 trends you've noted are "demand-side." But supply-side, a big question is anything happening on the funding side? And on the philosophical side, are we seeing changes in how donors view the role "media development" plays in the development paradigm?
Comments from Athens
Collected Comments from the Athens Meeting Discussion on the Trends suggested above.
- Flexibility - in southern African countries.
- Requires spit media strategies - elites and population - so 2 policies required depending on access levels.
- Some places not wired but everyone has mobile phones - so need to keep that in mind.
- Bangladesh - true re the technology - is part of the media industry - and is used, but technology is ruling - issue is that serious content is losing out - losing its seriousness.
- Not impressed by citizen journalism as not impressed by citizens who want to be doctors - question is how the media are trying to use these new technologies.
- With mobile phones you can not tell a story - mobile phones do not do that - issue is the standards of media - need to work to distinguish from a quality perspective - too much info - bring readers back to well-edited, well-vetted, etc.
- Issue of credibility - before citizens had limited choices - now there are many sources - so issue becomes one of credibility - but what do we do - what strategy? e.g., more blogging? more of what?
- TREND 2 - but what about the state of democracy in country?
- Contest that there is a move away from the local - rather the trend is back to local.
- Also - for the new skills are not in the classroom - e.g., media literacy for young people and families.
- Some of the skills related to and processes of traditonal media can be translated to the new media - e.g., transparency, fact checking, editorial review, etc. - consumer becomes the editor.
- If talking about trends - and trad. media is falling by the wayside - what about all of the bottom billion? E.g., Sudan - radio PSAs - in cartoon form - but local population did not understand so redid in a localised Arabic - a big gap between the different population levels.
- New technology is a revolution - need quality - so issue is how to use journalistic principles for high quality information - not just new information - how to help develop our societies' development?
- Citizen journalism - airplane crash - need to administer first aid - same thing with media - esp. where people are in less than free-media countries - rely on ordinary people reporting.
- Bunch of different debates going on:
- different contexts - e.g., between Greece and DRC - so country-specific.
- hate on for citizen journalists - but it is a fait accompli - and they are their own editors. - Big difference between freedom of expression and freedom of media - media is still very important.
- Trying to order something that is in chaos - trying to put old order on new things - old values on new processes.
- In certain countries it is essential - but in a very developed media market place it is less vital, important, or relevant - require the established and proven media processes - e.g., vetting.
- Best response is return to proven media values.
- Not a choice between professional media and citizens media - a place for both - e.g., open up training for non-journalists - e.g., local citizens join the training.
- Public system media - commitment to the public sphere - TV Cultura - a citizens journalism unit - TV Medellin - news from people's houses.
- How do you dialogue and how your professional skills serve the public sphere? - combination of empowering and serving.
- Namibia - 85 to 90 per cent "captured" - but media fossilised - so either how do you reform and renergise but public media may get overwhelmed - so what to do? Switch from institutions to specific programmes?
- Pacific - trying to get people as citizens journalism to work with mainstream media - that is the strategy.
- Citizen Journalism - a good thing in general, but question is whether it can be a substitute for mainstream journalism? - issue is funding for professional journalists - issue is advertising.
- Some citizen journalists are misused by media organisations.
- The centralising of the decentralsing process - e.g., bloggers congregating around the Huffington Post.
- Poss. Item 6? - Huff Post - now top 10 news site and still not profitable.
- IN USA 50% OF READERSHIP IS ONLINE AND 11% HAS FOLLOWED THE AUDIENCE.
- Poss. Item 6? - as online media becomes more developed what will be the business model? Can an advertising business be developed?
- Non profit journalsim - different model.
- Media development should be local - and will be - so different strategies in different contexts.
media development vs development media
I conceive 'media development' as a continuous global process and 'development media' as a state-led or society-led system for bringing about a social and cultural change in the developing countries.
LDRai
I am refering to media and
I am refering to media and journalism in local context.
1. Media has lost it's place among citizens, they are just becoming information Business.
2. Citizen seem to become more authoritive with internet freedom, yet lack professionalism and ethics
citizen journalism & truth/performance? indicators
syed ts hassan
In Malaysia,
*a big wind of change(revolution)after recent elections.
*countless bloggers, & profuse & use of mobile media.
*established media are very pro status quo power-that-be; very biased, shun by many especially young people!
*the new "people-power" effectively uses the virtual media.
*urgent challenge is management & regulation to ensure minimal unbiasedness, disinformation, misinformation, validity, and relaibility of information.
*such challenge crucial for social-health-economic sustenance & development in a multiracial, multiethnical, multireligons, multisegmental, and multihierarchical in many aspects and perspectives country such as Malaysia.
+implications for other developing & poor countries, and to some extent developed countries are imminent.
(Thanks & Congratulation Warren,Deborah, and the team for a greatly enhanced & energetic 2009-..... tci World)
Having been a part of the
Having been a part of the Online Universal Work Marketing team for 4 months now, I’m thankful for my fellow team members who have patiently shown me the ropes along the way and made me feel welcome.
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