Communication, Media, and Development Policy

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

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.