One week left to register for Highway Africa (HA2014)!

Due to the influx of interest in the 18th annual Highway Africa Conference, the deadline for registration has been extended to Friday, 08 August 2014. The world's largest annual gathering of African Journalists takes place at Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, from 7 – 8 September 2014. With the theme, "Social Media – from the margins to the mainstream", the event will explore how social media have impacted on all aspects of our lives in the last ten years. Using plenary sessions, keynote addresses, and panel discussions, the event will see journalists, civil society activists, academics and the youth reflecting on the role technology is playing in shaping journalism and the media in the society. The conference will also host various training workshops, book launches and exhibitions linked to the theme, plus evening gala dinners and networking sessions, including the prestigious Telkom-Highway Africa New Media Awards. The Highway Africa Conference is a project of Rhodes University's School of Journalism and Media Studies in partnership with Corporate South Africa, development agencies and media associations. Over the years the conference has been at the centre of Africa's debates on the interface of journalism and new media. The conference has become the largest annual gathering of African journalists in the world. Limited space available. Hurry and secure your place at the conference by registering – on the website. You have received this email because you are in the Highway Africa Centre database as kwami@penplusbytes.org. If you no longer wish to receive emails please unsubscribe © 2014 Highway Africa, Journalism & Media Studies, Rhodes University, All rights reserved

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
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Online: Where the future lies for journalism

The future of Journalism is online and on mobile devices, Derwin Johnson, a former American journalist with CNN and ABC News, told Nigerian students on Friday.

Johnson told students at the University of Lagos, that media houses who do not have an on-line presence will not survive in the 21st century.

During an interactive session with the UNILAG students that in the recent years, traditional media houses have been losing audiences to on-line platforms and the global trend is likely to increase in the coming years.

He argued that with 20 percent of Nigerians now on the internet, an increased bandwidth in the country will trigger rapid changes in the way Nigerians communicate and access information.

"Media houses that are not available here, will not survive," Johnson said brandishing a mobile phone.

He recognised that at the moment very few media houses are making substantial financial gains on-line, but added: "someone is going to figure out how to change that."

Despite the current challenges, Johnson advised the students to be driven by truth, passion, love, fairness and objectivity if they want to be good journalists.

"If this is your calling, if this is what you really want to do, you're going to find a way to do it," Johnson said.

He urged graduate and undergraduate students not to settle for less and always strive for excellence by being fair to all parties and objective in heir reporting.

He asked them not to shy away from the truth and to always go for stories that will have impact and trigger changes in the society.

Johnson, who was invited by the United States Consulate in Lagos, earlier conducted Media Relations training for over 30 communication staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The training took place between Monday and Thursday and focused on how to efficiently communicate electoral matters to the media.

Johnson was a former Middle East bureau chief for both CNN and ABC News headquarters in Beirut Lebanon and Cairo, Egypt.

He was also a member of Vice President George H.W. Bush's travelling press corps and broadcast producer for ABC News' World News This Morning and Good Morning America news.

After active Journalism, Johnson spent seven years at Columbia University as an Associate Professor at Graduate School of Journalism, teaching a core subject. He is now an independent senior communication consultant with over 30-year experience.

http://thenewsnigeria.com.ng/2014/07/20/online-where-the-future-lies-for-journalism/

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org

Maternity protection, essential for working women

“The struggle for equality is intimately linked to the struggle for social justice in the world of work.” -Guy Ryder, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Director-General has said. The ILO has indicated in a new report on Maternity and Paternity at Work: Law and Practice Across the World (2014) that 830 million women workers still do not have adequate maternity protection in terms of leave and income security around childbirth. Almost 80 per cent of these women work in Africa and Asia, where groups of workers are excluded from protection in law and practice. This is often for self-employed, domestic, agricultural, casual or temporary workers.

Maternity discrimination 

The report indicates that despite overall strides, maternity discrimination persists and groups of workers, often those in female-dominated areas, are excluded entirely from protection in law and practice. Clearly, this raises a number of issues for discussion in the Ghanaian context in relation to, what is maternity protection? Who needs maternity protection? Why is maternity protection important? And how can we improve maternity protection in Ghana? Maternity protection is a set of interventions put in place to protect the livelihood of a woman worker during pregnancy and after childbirth. That is to ensure that the woman’s economic activities do not pose risks to her health and her child. It also ensures that the woman’s reproductive role do not compromise the economic security of her household. Simply put, maternity protection means women workers have the right to maternity leave, cash and medical benefits, health protection at work, non-discrimination, good quality maternal health care, breastfeeding and childcare arrangements at work.

Working women

On that note, every working woman (whether in the formal or informal sector) needs maternity protection irrespective of the type of work she does.For this reason, stakeholders at the first National Meeting on Maternity Protection echoed that promoting the rights of women workers through maternity protection must be given a national priority, since what affects women workers also affects the society at large.The Director in charge of Finance & Administration of the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Mr Rudolph Kuuzegh, said every worker and employer must endeavour to understand the issues on maternity protection in the working environment.
The Head of Women’s Desk of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, Mrs Teresa Abugah, welcomed ILO’s intervention on maternity protection in Ghana. She added that a maternity protection project presents real opportunities for workers to intensify efforts at achieving decent work for all in Ghana.
She said it was unfortunate that some formal women workers who became pregnant were not given the opportunity to decide when to start their leave to be able to have enough time to breastfeed. Employers have also failed in providing a safe and decent room or facility for women returning from maternity leave to come with their babies and househelp to the workplace, hindering their performance at work.

Need for increased awareness

According to Mr Charles Asante-Bempong, Research & Project Manager of Ghana Employers’ Association, employers acknowledge the relevance of maternity protection and how it benefitted workers. However, there is the need for increased awareness of the issues regarding maternity protection at workplaces, including the informal sector. He further called on the government to expand health facilities, especially in rural communities, to ensure that women had access to health facilities and on time.

Maternity protection and development
This explains why maternity protection is central to an array of development objectives and agenda. For example, maternity protection at work;
• Is a fundamental human right
• Is a prerequisite for gender equality at the workplace
• Helps to  improve mother and child health
• Contributes to economic growth and poverty reduction
• Is integral to the decent work agenda
In addition to the above,  maternity protection will contribute to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), namely MDG 1 on eradicating extreme poverty and hunger, MDG 3 on promoting gender equality and empowering women, MDG 4 on reducing child mortality, MDG 5 on improving maternal health and MDG 6 on combating HIV & AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

Interventions
Improving maternity protection in Ghana should include interventions such as developing and implementing a national maternity protection policy, extending maternity protection benefits to women workers in the informal economy, increasing awareness of maternity protection among stakeholders and the general public, providing breastfeeding arrangements and childcare facilities at workplaces and promoting parental leave to include paternity leave for men to support their wives and children.


Source: Daily Graphic

Penplusbytes partners ACEP to develop oil and gas citizens’ participatory digital platform

Ghana risks mismanaging its new oil find just like its gold and other mineral if transparent governance systems are not in place. In this regard, Penplusbytes is partnering Africa Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP) to develop a digital platform that will enable citizens participates in the oversight role of monitoring the oil and gas sector.

The partnership forms the online component of activities in the project “Improving Transparency in Ghana’s gas and oil sector” with technical support and funding from DFID. The project aims at improving transparency in the management of Ghana’s oil and gas resources through active participation of citizens and relevant stakeholders. It also seeks to reduce the risk of mismanagement through fiscal accountability, contract transparency other regulatory frameworks.
 Kwami Ahiabenu II president of Penplusbytes said “Penplusbytes’ rich experience in applying technology to enable citizens participate in decision making process backed by in-country experiences from Ghana, Uganda, Liberia, Tanzania, will ensure the development an online platform that will take into consideration the needs citizens and the development of a user-friendly application that will project the concerns of citizens whiles at the same time solicit feedback from duty bearers for greater advocacy”.

The online platform will be the tool to carry citizens along on the happenings in the governance of the oil sector. The project is expected to facilitate citizen’s participation in spending decision through; two-way interactive SMS messages, mailing list, mobile app, interactive voice response systems (IVR), mobile apps and integrated with social media all geared toward meeting the citizens where they are and which platform they comfortable to use to ensure greater participation.
Mohammed Amin Executive Director of ACEP said “we are excited to work with Penplusbytes on this project, since they are a lead organization in developing tools and applications that promote citizen participation in governance and we believe their vast experience in deploying new digital technologies for citizen engagement combined with ACEP’s research and advocacy capabilities will help the project in achieving it ultimate objective of citizens’ participation. Penplusbytes is one key organisation which understands technology and governance to help us achieve project goals”.
                                                                                                                                       Signed:  Jeremiah Sam

Note to editors

Penplusbytes since 2001seeks to empower the media through the use of ICTs to advance the course of journalism in 3 areas: governance and accountability, new media and innovations and oil, gas and mining. www.reportingoilandgas.org
The Africa Centre for Energy Policy- (ACEP) was established in 2010. It seeks to influence energy sector policies in Africa by providing professional analysis of energy policy, training, advisory services and policy advocacy for the efficient and transparent management of Africa’s energy resources. http://acepghana.com/

TSA Policy Change Increases Tech Security Burden For Traveling Journalists

Earlier this month, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration announced a new policy requiring that travelers to the United States turn on their devices at the request of airport security personnel.

Devices that cannot be powered on will be barred from the aircraft, and passengers in possession of such devices may also be subjected to additional screening. While a number of commenters have lamented the policy change on the grounds that it is likely to cause confusion and otherwise inconvenience passengers, the move could also aggravate the risks journalists already face when traveling with sensitive materials such as notes, unpublished photographs or information about sources.

Reuters reported on July 4 that the new TSA policy was prompted by fears among some U.S. government officials that Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant groups may seek to build bombs into electronic devices. The policy does not grant airport screeners the broad authority to search electronic devices frequently exercised by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a practice under challenge by civil rights groups and that has reportedly been used against journalists.

"Journalists should know that their items aren't going to be searched" under the new policy, a Department of Homeland Security official, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue, told CPJ. "Their items aren't going to be taken from them." TSA's interest, the official said, is in whether devices turn on at all.

QUESTIONS REMAIN, SO IT'S BEST TO TAKE PRECAUTIONS

Because the TSA does not have screening operations outside the U.S., enforcement of the new policy falls to a variety of public and private actors across a range of countries. As such, it is unclear how the mandate will be implemented. It is also unclear just what counts as a "device": although smartphones and laptops are obvious examples, cameras and video equipment are also possible targets for inspection, as are hard drives, USB drives and other storage media that lack an LCD screen or other means of showing that they are "on."

Given this uncertainty, journalists should think about how to protect their work long before heading to the airport. CPJ's Journalist Security Guide provides good guidance on information-security best practices. Specifically, journalists should utilize full disk encryption, enable a firmware password for any laptop and fully shut down all devices prior to entering security to ensure that encryption keys cannot be pulled easily from RAM. Securely wiping all non-laptop mobile devices — which can easily be restored from a copy kept on an encrypted laptop once airborne, then re-wiped prior to landing — may also be prudent.

As the U.S. Supreme Court put it in a landmark case on cell phone privacy just two weeks ago, officials "may examine the phone's physical aspects to ensure that it will not be used as a weapon, but the data on the phone can endanger no one." While TSA seems to be taking this admonition into account, at the end of the day it is up to journalists to protect themselves — and their sources.

source : http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2014/07/tsa-policy-change-increases-tech-security-burden-for-traveling-journalists/

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org

New Thomson Reuters Foundation Media Program to Investigate Illicit Finance, Tax Abuse

Thomson Reuters Foundation Seeks Applications from African Media for Illicit Finance Training and Assistance Program by July 28th

Are you an ambitious journalist in Africa with an interest in probing illicit finance, money laundering, and tax related abuses? Or, perhaps, you represent an outstanding, independent media organization based in Africa with a desire and reputation for exposing financial crime and corruption? Either way, the Thomson Reuters Foundation is launching a new three-year programassisting African media on the reporting of illicit finance and tax abuse, and they are hoping that you will apply.  According to the TR Foundation:

Illicit financial flows are a major problem for Africa.  GFI research finds that (in constant 2005 U.S. dollars) Sub-Saharan Africa suffered US$419.1 billion in illicit outflows between 2002-2011.  Indeed, as a percent of GDP,  Africa suffered higher illicit financial outflows than any other region in the world.

Train the youth in new technlogies to take advantage of oil and gas sector – Lecturer

A lecturer has called on the Government to help train young people in new technologies so they could use the acquired technological know-how to accelerate the pace of development.

Dr Stephen Kudom Donyinah, a Senior Lecturer, Department of Chemical/Petroleum Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) Ghana, said the Government could invest in such new technologies by providing scholarships for young people to train abroad.

He said they could then come back and compete with foreign expatriates, working especially in the oil and gas sector, and take over from them in future.

Speaking on the topic: "Engineering and Technological Challenges of the Oil and Gas industry in Ghana," Dr Donyinah, who is also the College of Engineering Coordinator, Petroleum Engineering Programme, KNUST, said just as done in countries like Japan, government could also partner with training institutions in Ghana to help identify and select the right caliber of people to be trained for the purpose.

The Institute of ICT Journalism (Penplusbytes) held the Media and Civil Society forum in Accra as part of the ongoing "Empowering the Media to Play Active Watchdog Roles over Oil and Gas Revenue and Resources" project supported by STAR- Ghana.

The forum was on the theme: "Assessing Oil and Gas in Ghana Governance and Accountability Framework".

It brought together journalists and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) with the aim of increasing oil and gas information and knowledge exchange, leading to opportunities for national dialogue on key oil and gas revenue management issues.

It is also to ensure better understanding of relevant issues in the oil and gas industry for better advocacy, networking and partnership building.

Dr Donyinah said it was the responsibility of government to initiate the way of partnership with the private sector to invest in the young intelligent people and also help establish them in the various economies.

He emphasized the need to pull "our energies together to help build the oil and gas sector so it could help provide the necessary support for the economy".

Dr Donyinah also appealed to the National Service Secretariat to ensure that students who trained in oil and gas in the universities were posted to oil related companies for their national services so they could acquire hands-on experience that could prepare them for the sector.

Key speakers at the forum included Mr Victor Brobbey, Legal Researcher, Centre for Democratic Development -Ghana, who made a presentation on the topic; Transparency of the Revenue Act and Dr Steve Manteaw, Co-chairman, Ghana Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, who spoke on "Assessing Oil and Gas in Ghana Governance and Accountability Framework: the Role of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives"

Major Daniel Abloh (Rtd), Chairman of the Public Interest and Accountability Committee, also spoke on the topic: "Implementation of Oil and Gas Transparency Framework-The Role of PIAC"

 

source : Ghana News Agency

 

Opportunity : Reporting on illicit finance in Africa

OPPORTUNITIES FOR JOURNALISTS AND MEDIA ORGANISATIONS FROM ACROSS AFRICA

Thomson Reuters Foundation is working with a group of Africa-based organisations to run a three-year programme assisting African media on the reporting of illicit finance and tax abuse. The programme runs from 2014-16 and is supported by the Norwegian development agency, Norad.

African economies lose huge sums of money every year through practices such as tax evasion and avoidance, often carried out by large companies. However, this phenomenon receives little attention and is rarely the subject of in-depth investigation.

Thomson Reuters Foundation believes that African media has a vital role to play in bringing this issue to light and exposing tax abuse where it is taking place. We also believe that collaboration between journalists and media organisations across borders is essential when reporting on money flows between countries.

We are seeking outstanding journalists and ambitious, independent media organisations to join us in this new project.

FOR JOURNALISTS

We are looking for skilled investigative or financial/business journalists based anywhere in Africa to take part in a long-term scheme that will develop their ability to report on illicit finance and tax abuse. 

Benefits of the scheme:

Selected journalists will take part in two intensive workshops (3-5 days each) covering illicit finance, reporting on companies, accounts and budgets, and investigative techniques

Participating journalists will then be part of a regional team of reporters focussing on illicit finance. Experienced investigative journalists will coordinate the team and the production of stories and investigations

Journalists will have access to story leads and editorial advice from experienced reporters, and will be invited to share their own expertise with participants from other regions

Collaborative investigations will be available for publication/broadcast in the media outlets of participating journalists

Journalists who take part must commit to all elements of the programme. Participants will sign an agreement to this effect. 

Workshops are provisionally scheduled for September and December and will take place in one of the following locations: Kampala, Johannesburg, Dakar, or Rabat. 

What we are looking for:

Journalists with at least two years of professional experience

Journalists with experience of investigative journalism or reporting on companies/finances

Both freelancers and staff journalists may apply. Journalists working for a news organisation will need consent from their editor to take part. Freelancers should provide evidence that one or more media organisations will be willing to take their work. 

Journalists working in any medium or multiple media are welcome to apply (print, online, radio or television)

How to apply

Step 1: Click here to access the online application form. You must complete and submit this form before the application deadline. 

Step 2: After completing the form, you must send us the following documents:

• Two relevant examples of your work
• A letter from your editor consenting to your participation in the scheme (if you are a freelancer, we encourage you to send letters from one or more editors you work with, expressing interest in publishing/broadcasting your stories on illicit finance/tax abuse)

These must be sent to TRFmedia@thomsonreuters.com with the subject line: 'Illicit finance journalism application'. 

The deadline for submitting the application form and documents is 28th July 2014.

FOR MEDIA ORGANISATIONS AND NEWSROOMS

We are looking to work with independent media organisations based anywhere in Africa to help them become 'flagship' centres for the investigation of illicit finance and tax abuse. 

We would like to establish relationships with media organisations that are motivated to report on and investigate these issues. Newsrooms will have access to bespoke in-house training and consultancy from a range of experts, including current and former Reuters journalists and editors. 

We also wish to learn from what newsrooms in Africa are already doing and share best practice across borders. 

The support we offer is broad, encompassing hands-on journalism and investigative techniques, management of newsrooms and investigations, and business models. We take a collaborative approach, working closely with media organisations to identify their needs and build on their strengths. 

We would like to hear from media organisations which are:

Independent

Producing strong journalism on finance/business

Producing or working on investigations – or motivated to do so

Currently financially stable – or have good prospects of achieving stability 

We invite representatives of eligible media organisations to send expressions of interest to TRFmedia@thomsonreuters.com with the subject line: 'Illicit finance media organisation application'. Please address the following points: 

• Give an overview of your media organisation
• Is the organisation independent? Briefly explain how it is owned and run in a way that ensures independence
• What is your track record in business/finance reporting, and/or investigative journalism? Please provide examples of notable stories, including stories which have had an impact
• Give a financial picture of the organisation. What are the sources of revenue and to what extent do they cover the operating costs? What are the future prospects? 

There is a rolling deadline for expressions of interest from media organisations – they may be submitted at any time. However, we encourage interested organisations to contact us as soon as possible because a limited number of media organisations will be able to engage in the programme.

PARTNER ORGANISTIONS

Thomson Reuters Foundation is working with the following organisations on this project:

African Centre for Media Excellence (ACME) - based in Uganda

Institute for the Advancement of Journalism (IAJ) - based in South Africa

Institut Superieur de l'Information et de la Communication (ISIC) - based in Morocco

Centre d'Etudes des Sciences et Techniques de l'Information (CESTI) - based in Senegal

source : http://www.trust.org/spotlight/illicit-finance

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org

Penplusbytes Organizes Forum for Media and Civil Society Organisations in the Extractive Sector

Prudent management of oil and gas revenue and resources can contribute to wealth creation and poverty reduction,  In light of this situation, Penplusbytes, is organizing  a media and Civil Society forum at the New Media Hub, Osu-Accra, under the theme “Assessing Oil and Gas in Ghana Governance and Accountability Framework” on Thursday, July 10^th, 2014. This forum is part of the ongoing “Empowering the Media to Play Active Watchdog Role over Oil and Gas Revenue and Resources” project supported by STAR- Ghana.

The forum is expected to bring together journalists and CSOs with the aim of increasing oil and gas information and knowledge exchange leading to opportunities for national dialogue on key oil and gas revenue management issues and also for a better understanding of relevant issues in the oil and gas industry for better advocacy, networking and partnership building.

Kwami Ahiabenu II, President of Penplusbytes said, “the forum is intended to bring civil society organizations together to discuss how information and knowledge can be shared between stakeholders as they work to hold government accountable in the better management of Ghana oil and gas sector”.

Participants for the forum includes 10 journalists currently undergoing oil and gas training program with Penplusbytes as well as 20 oil and gas course alumni. Key speakers include Mr. Victor Brobbey from the Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD), who will be making a presentation on the topic; ‘Transparency of the Revenue Act’, and Dr. Stephen K. Donyinah of Chemical Engineering Department of KNUST, will deliver a paper on the topic, ‘Engineering and Technological Challenges of the oil and gas Industry in Ghana ’.

“This forum comes at an opportune time for journalists seeking to broaden their knowledge in latest oil and gas trends through interactions with key stakeholders in Ghana’s Oil and Gas industry.” Crusading Guide’s Adu Koranteng a trainee participant

Ends

Note to Editors

Penplusbytes established in 2001 seeks to empower the media through the use of ICTs to advance the course of journalism in 3 areas: governance and accountability, new media and innovations and oil, gas and mining.www.reportingoilandgas.org is a project of Penplusbytes.

STAR-Ghana is a multi- donor pooled funding mechanism (Funded by DFID, DANIDA, EU and USAID) to increase the influence of civil society and Parliament in the governance of public goods and service delivery, with the ultimate goal of improving the accountability and responsiveness of Ghana’s government, traditional authorities and the private sector.

Mike Best Delivers African Elections Project Inaugural Lectures On Social Media Tracking Of African Elections.

Dr. Michael Best, a renowned New media and ICT specialist and Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs and the School of Interactive Computing at Georgia Institute of technology will on June 30, 2014, deliver a lecture  inaugural African Elections Project Lecture series on the topic :  "Free, Fair and Facebook: Social Media Tracking of African Elections” at 5:30pm. Hosted by Penplusbytes’ New Media Hub, a ultra-modern innovations hub that supports non-profits and CSOs to achieve greater efficiency and creative impact in their work via new digital technologies located in Osu, Accra- Ghana.

The lecture forms part of the African Elections Project (www.afrcanelections.org) which has so far covered elections in 13 African countries was established in 2008 with the vision of enhancing the ability of journalists, citizen and the news media to provide more timely and relevant elections-related information and knowledge while undertaking monitoring of specific and important aspects of governance

Dr. Best lecture will seek to explore how modern technology and ICT can open up and ensure greater civic participation to improve free and fair elections in fledgling democracies such as Ghana and for that matter Africa and to enhance democracy in Africa. The use of social media and crowdsourcing platforms are exploding across the African continent, especially via mobile networks and featured handsets and over the last five years, Dr. Best and his team have been involved in the development of new software systems and organizational processes that aid the monitoring on social media platforms (from Facebook to Twitter, Google+, Ushahidi, Mixit, and more) to help ensure free and fair elections in Africa. Their Aggie social media aggregator and monitoring software has been deployed in elections in Nigeria, Liberia, Ghana, and Kenya.

These real-world election experiences have demonstrated a number of strengths to their approach including: meeting the electorate where they are, technological neutrality, the need for working software that can handle high volumes of social media inputs and the value of embedding team members with core stakeholders, such as election commissions and security organizations.In the recent Ekiti state election in Nigeria for instance, the group integrated the Aggie platform with mobile phone based field observation technology, called ELMO. This allowed, for the first time, a unified monitoring mechanism between social media and formal observers, enabled through a single platform. In this pilot project, it was demonstrated that formal observers and social media complement each other in interesting and powerful ways.

Editor’s Note:

Established in 2001, Penplusbytes is a leading organization in Africa working in 3 areas: governance and accountability, new media and innovations as well as oil, gas and mining

The future of journalism

In the age of big data, Google critics say online services come at the price of freedom. Opponents say old business models for journalism are being redefined by the Internet and the people who use it.

Mathias Döpfner, CEO of media publishing house Axel Springer SE and U.S. Internet expert Jeff Jarvis locked horns in the first main debate at the DW Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany. Döpfner says that people pay for seemingly free online services with their freedom, while Jarvis says he's glad "that Google knows where I live."

The "Media summit" on the first day of conference focused on the future of journalism and the role of international broadcasters. Also participating in the debate were Salah Negm, Director of News at Al Jazeera's English channel, Jawhar Sircar, CEO of Indian public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and Peter Limbourg, Director General of Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle.

Jarvis accused Döpfner of calling for state funding to save the faltering business model of paid journalism, rather than concentrating on developing new ideas. In response, Döpfner said his publishing company had already changed radically, and that digital content generates two-thirds of the business' profits. He said that Axel Springer SE wants to become a leading digital publisher. Speaking to an international audience that included many journalists, Jarvis pointed out that "It's far too soon to know what the Internet is and that we should define it in analog of our ways in the past."

In a keynote speech just prior to the panel discussion, Döpfner predicted that "a culture of paying for digital journalism will take root over the next few years. Content that is less valuable will continue to be free, content that is particularly relevant, exclusive or entertaining will be paid for." He also said it was a misperception that people can access online content for free. "The services which are perceived to be free of charge have a much higher price than money. Those who pay with their behavior, pay in the end with their freedom."

 

Mathias Döpfner of Axel Springer SE

"My newspaper can't do that"

According to Jarvis, anyone who wants to be successful online needs to be Google-oriented. Google isn't a gatekeeper who decides what information reaches people, he said. "It is a platform that enables anyone and everyone to speak." Jarvis also pointed out that Google has a strict service commitment to its users and the personalized online experience it is developing will be a big part of the future of journalism. "I am happy that Google knows where I live and where I work because I get relevant data back in return. My newspaper has no idea who I am and where I live and where I work and can't give me relevance."

Journalism is a mission, not a profession

Debate moderator Tim Sebastian pointed out that not only the business model of journalism faces insecurity, but that journalists themselves are too often in danger, citing the three Al Jazeera reporters sentenced to prison in Cairo without fair trial. On the topic of security for journalists, Salah Negm, called for more solidarity from the international journalism community. Negm said that for him, the future of journalism is less of a technical question. "The most important factor is trust," he said, "and we have to earn that trust everyday and every minute. I would like to think of journalism not as a profession but as a mission."

Peter Limbourg, Director General of Deutsche Welle agreed, adding that international broadcasters have a duty to stand up to their responsibility as information providers when national media outlets only show one side of a story. "I think it's good that we have the Russians, the Chinese and the Gulf states in the market and they should come to us and they should bring their opinions," he said, "but it's a vice versa thing. Let me try to broadcast Deutsche Welle in Saudi Arabia. This would be a difficult thing. Let me try to go in and broadcast in China. Or let me go in and broadcast in Russia – everywhere with everything."

 

Journalist and tech expert Jeff Jarvis

International partners and co-hosts

The 2014 Global Media Forum is held in cooperation with many national and international partners, such as Amnesty International, Deutsche Telekom, the Grimme-Institut, NATO, the United Nations, the Vodafone Institute for Society and Communications and Voices of Africa. The conference is co-hosted by the Foundation for International Dialogue of the Sparkasse Savings Bank in Bonn. Support is also kindly provided by Germany's Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and the City of Bonn. Cooperation partner is The Right Livelihood College Campus Bonn.

For more information about the conference, go to www.dw-gmf.de.

Photographs from all the events will be posted continuously at flickr.com/deutschewelle/collections. 

Alternatively, photos are available upon request from Lisa Flanakin, Tel. +49 173 850 7281

To watch the live stream of selected events, go to www.dw.de/media-center/live-tv/s-100825/channel/9798

Follow the Global Media Forum on a variety of social media networks:

Twitter.com/dw_gmf (English); twitter.com/deutschewelle (German)

Twitter hashtags:#dw_gmf and#be_part

facebook.com/dw.gmf (English) and facebook.com/dw.deutschewelle (German)

YouTube.com/GMFconference

Audio recordings of the events will be made available continuously on soundcloud.com/dwgmf.

http://www.dw.de/the-future-of-journalism/a-17749657

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International Institute for ICT Journalism
www.penplusbytes.org