Executive Editor of The Washington Post Marty Baron has told the World News Media Congress in DC that editors are essential. “They’re our quality control. It’s a huge mistake to think we don’t need editors. People remember our mistakes a lot longer than our successes,” he said to Maria Ressa in an on stage interview during the Congress’ opening session.
The Golden Pen of Freedom – an annual international award issued by WAN-IFRA since 1961 to recognise outstanding action on press freedom – has been issued collectively to the world’s fallen journalists during a ceremony in Washington DC.According to UNESCO, 33 journalists have been assassinated so far in 2015. In issuing the award, WAN-IFRA is calling on the news industry to engage with the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity to better protect the lives of journalists. It is also calling on the world’s governments to take urgent action to end impunity for the killers of journalists. Incoming chair of the World Editors Forum, former war correspondent and Brazilian editor Marcelo Rech, accepted the award during the Opening Ceremony of the World News Media Congress today. The words that follow are his.
The Golden Pen of Freedom – an annual international award issued by WAN-IFRA since 1961 to recognise outstanding action on press freedom – has been issued collectively to the world’s fallen journalists during a ceremony in Washington DC.
According to UNESCO, 33 journalists have been assassinated so far in 2015. In issuing the award, WAN-IFRA is calling on the news industry to engage with the United Nations Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity to better protect the lives of journalists. It is also calling on the world’s governments to take urgent action to end impunity for the killers of journalists. Incoming chair of the World Editors Forum, former war correspondent and Brazilian editor Marcelo Rech, accepted the award during the Opening Ceremony of the World News Media Congress today. The words that follow are his.
An all-American panel of local-media standouts described how their companies are embracing a variety of innovative efforts in order to meet the demands of today’s audiences and ensure their own financial futures.
This report presents best-practice recommendations from data privacy experts and publishers around the world, results of consumer and publisher surveys, and recent trends and regulations around the topic.
WAN-IFRA has received disturbing reports of an unprecedented public assault against hyper-local Egyptian news company Welad El Balad. Amongst a number of outlandish statements directed towards the organisation and broadcast over a private satellite channel in recent days, the company is accused of being “the agent of foreign powers” and of “working to undermine the Egyptian state.”
News media websites continue to be prime targets for cyber-attacks. In May, The Washington Post’s mobile site was hacked by a group claiming to be part of the Syrian Electronic Army. The attack lasted about 30 minutes, and visitors to some section fronts saw messages that said “The media is always lying” before being redirected to a Syrian Electronic Army website.
Independent media in Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua and Venezuela are under serious attack from soft censorship – a combination of administrative and financial practices used by government’s to favour positive coverage and punish critical reporting. That’s the view of Argentina’s DYN news agency and Vice President of the country’s Press Association (ADEPA), Daniel Dessein. He spoke to Mariona Sanz.
Reported.ly, the social-media newsroom led by Andy Carvin, launched its first dedicated website in beta last week. Part of the First Look family, Reported.ly made its debut in January, one of its peculiarities was that it didn’t have a website – it was designed to live within the social media ecosystem. But the new website won’t change the participatory nature of the journalism the network does, according to Europe anchor Malachy Browne, as Federica Cherubini reports.
As WAN-IFRA’s 67th World News Media Congress is less than a week away, we spoke to Jim Brady, the CEO of Billy Penn. His platform is a pioneering Philadelphia-based online news publication, employing a multitude of inventive strategies and hence propelling this form of news publishing. Brady will participate in a session on Sunday, 31 May called, “Punching Above Our Weight: How Small and Mid-Sized Publishers Can Lead the Digital Transformation” at our event in Washington, D.C., alongside Nancy Lane, J. Tom Shaw, and Chris Edwards.
For many journalists, going back to pre-digital basics is the new norm when dealing with confidential sources in the post-Snowden era. As traditional source protection frameworks are eroded in the digital age, the attention of investigative journalists and their editors is necessarily turning to risk-assessment, self-protection and source education. And, as Julie Posetti reports, there is a also a need to update laws globally.
French public broadcaster France 24 produces a weekly TV news program about gender equality in three languages – French, English and Arabic. The 51% offers a window into the lives, achievements and struggles experienced by women globally. Former Jerusalem correspondent Annette Young presents the show from Paris. She spoke to Julie Posetti.
Newsrooms are becoming increasingly reliant on User Generated Content (UGC) to complement their news stories. But a new study conducted by Pete Brown from Eyewitness Media Hub shows that newsrooms are making themselves vulnerable to lawsuits, exposing themselves to ethical issues as well as placing uploaders in uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous positions. Angelique Lu reports.