We invite you to check out the full festival programme on the website, but to provide a taster we have prepared the following brief overview. By clicking on +info► you can link to full details of each session, and then add it if you wish to your personal festival day-by-day agenda on your computer or smartphone.
09:00 – 10:00 > Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani | country/region focus
Hard-earned lessons in Eastern Europe +info►
Journalists from Eastern Europe are all too familiar with trying to navigate political leaders and their cronies have fostered a culture of propaganda and falsehood in a bid to silence independent media. More than thirty years after the collapse of communism, they have learned how to survive in a hostile climate where corrupt officials and media repression have been the norm. The Covid-19 pandemic along with the ‘infodemic’ of misinformation posed new challenges to journalists in the region, where vaccination rates are some of the lowest in Europe. So, we ask what can Western media learn from journalists working in a hostile media environment? Could journalists in Eastern Europe help colleagues in the West better navigate a turbulent political and media landscape? What are the obstacles to building niche and independent media in countries with little history of that? What was the role of the media during the wave of pandemic-related disinformation?
09:00 – 10:00 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | whistleblowing
The fate of the whistleblower +info►
Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has been devising and revising their systems and processes for handling whistle-blowers and sources from first contact to publication and beyond. But where does that duty of care end and what are the considerations broadcasters and publishers need to consider along the often challenging road to publication. Often organisations might not comprehend the full range of responsibilities that comes with handling a whistle-blower, especially when there is a significant threat to life. In addition, there are the more obvious financial penalties that come with losing a job or livelihood when they decide to go public with evidence of corporate or government abuse. From ensuring fair and appropriate financial support, physical security, strict info-sec protocols, proper legal advice and in some cases assisting with applications for asylum, the list of measures and actions is long and costly. But at what point should journalists draw a line and consider they have fulfilled their side of the bargain with a whistle-blower who often has nowhere else to turn? Al Jazeera’s investigative unit panel, with the help of two whistle-blowers who are still dealing with the consequences of their brave actions, will the challenges they have faced. The two prominent whistle-blowers, Johannes Stefansson and Saer Khan, will talk from direct experience about the perils and pitfalls of their journey, but also give an honest appraisal of where journalists can do better. Both faced direct physical danger and one is currently seeking asylum with his family as a result of his brave actions. Phil Rees, Director of Investigations, will be the third member of the panel. He will address some of the legal, ethical and financial considerations that arise during whistle-blower investigations. Organised in association with Al Jazeera Investigations.
10:30 – 11:30 > Sala del Dottorato | diversity, equity & inclusion
The diversity dividend: how news orgs find success with underserved audiences +info►
The experiences of news orgs who are not just tackling, but also thriving, by addressing diversity and especially in relation to underserved audiences. The panel will investigate the issue from both a practical point of view, as well as drawing out wider industry trends and findings. Sponsored by Google News Initiative.
10:30 – 11:30 > Palazzo Sorbello | media under attack
Modelling the business under repression +info►
You’re under pressure. You have to pivot. What’s the key? Founders, editors and publishers from the IPI global network take you under the bonnet of their audience-centred business models powering independent journalism. Organised in association with International Press Institute.
10:30 – 11:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | local journalism
Local network journalism: people in the crosshairs of right-wing terrorism +info►
A network of a dozen newspapers involving 30 journalists investigated the deathlists of right-wing terrorists. The investigations was focused on the potential victims, on the people that are under threat. On the potential inhabitants of the next concentration camps if the Nazi came to power again. The investigation did not focus on the terrorists. This project was special. It was not only published in a series of a hundred stories in newspapers. It was also published in a book and in a travelling exhibition. An exhibition that was shown in dozens of cities throughout Germany. On the central market squares, where it stirred discussions with the participation of local newspapers through our CORRECTIV.local network. And it worked. People talked about the investigations, visited it, took it as an opportunity to interact with their newspapers. CORRECTIV also published a corresponding website for this project. Organised in association with CORRECTIV.
10:30 – 11:30 > Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani | journalist safety & well-being
Fighting back against online violence +info►
Online abuse is being used as a tool to silence journalists globally, with women media workers disproportionately targeted and attacked. The International Women’s Media Foundation created the Coalition Against Online Abuse, with nearly 50 partners and growing, to fight back against the trolls. Our panel will spotlight different strategies that are working and what is still needed to better protect journalists. We’ll highlight resources, alliances, and approaches from newsrooms, press freedom, civic tech, and human rights organizations that can be scaled to tackle this massive problem. Organised in association with International Women’s Media Foundation.
10:30 – 11:30 > Sala della Vaccara, Palazzo dei Priori | innovation
Innovations in storytelling: lessons from the inventor of the live magazine format +info►
Across North America and Europe, huge audiences gather in landmark theaters to witness live journalism: reported stories performed with audio, video, live music, dance, and more. They’re participating in a new genre you could call ‘theatrical journalism’. These audiences connect emotionally with stories, with storytellers, and with each other. How can journalism animate live experiences? Why live journalism is a tool to build trust and engage with audiences, including defiant ones? How can theater bring a feeling of wonder and immersion to reported narratives? What new formats might we imagine? Meet live journalism pioneer Douglas McGray, in discussion with Florence Martin-Kessler. Organised in association with Live Magazine.
10:30 – 11:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | AI
AI reporting: a speciality beat or everyone’s concern? +info►
Investigative journalists strive to expose wrongdoing and hold the powerful to account. But how do you investigate algorithms that make life-changing decisions? Join leading investigative journalists to discuss the future of AI accountability reporting. The speakers will take you behind the scenes of their reporting on AI systems used by police, job recruiters, and public health systems. They will talk about their challenges and breakthroughs, and offer tips for anyone interested in covering this urgent, underreported story. Organised in association with The Pulitzer Center and sponsored by Open Society Foundations.
10:30 – 11:30 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | climate crisis
Climate change: is journalism ready to uphold its mission to serve the people’s right to know? +info►
As we enter 2022, and with COP26 behind us, everything remains to be done for climate journalism. Major, and disruptive changes are expected as decarbonation starts. As journalists, we will have to rethink the way we cover almost everything and acquire new scientific and economic skills. So, is journalism ready to uphold its mission to serve the people’s right to know, monitor progress, detect misinformation about climate without creating more news fatigue? The news industry is already on the move building coalitions such as CCNow, or seeking help from climate journalism networks. From climate desks to the “all newsroom approach”, what are the options to be up for the task? How are newsrooms planning to cover the biggest story ever? And how can we tackle the most pressing issue: climate change literacy versus greenwashing? Organised in association with Agence France-Presse.
12:00 – 13:00 > Sala del Dottorato | country/region focus
Journalism from abroad: the example of Belarus +info►
In 2020, mass protests took place in Belarus, after which many people were forced to emigrate from the country. The wave of repression also affected on independent media. Foreign media were deprived of accreditation, like European radio for Belarus, local media websites or social networks were recognized as extremist. For example, the largest news portal tut.by was eliminated after the arrest of 15 employees, other employees were forced to emigrate or to quit their jobs. They have opened a new website zerkalo.io and now they are working from abroad. Another example, Malanka media, the YouTube channel that appeared in fall 2020 and it’s one of the biggest Belarussian news channel in YouTube. According to Belarussian Association of Journalists, 32 Belarussian journalists behind bars. More than 300 journalists were forced to leave the country. 13 media outlets are considered by pro government courts as extremist. During the discussion, we would like to talk about how to work in this mode, not to break away from the context and what opportunities the media have to receive unique information or realise large projects. A fourth speaker who at present prefers to remain anonymous will join the panel. Organised in association with Outriders.
12:00 – 13:00 > Palazzo Sorbello | legal protection for journalists
Don’t SLAPP the messenger: the impact of abusive legal threats and actions against journalists +info►
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (or SLAPPs) are increasingly being used to intimidate journalists into withholding, amending, or removing critical coverage, even when the information is accurate and in the public interest. SLAPPs abuse the law by attempting to keep a lid on unethical or criminal activity by inundating journalists and media outlets with expensive, time-consuming, and emotionally draining legal threats and actions. When they successfully drive information out of the public domain, they prevent nefarious activities from coming to light and make it difficult to hold power to account. SLAPPs threaten not only on media freedom and freedom of expression, but our human rights, our rule of law, and our democracies. For more information on SLAPPs, see this short explanatory video. Organised in association with Index on Censorship.
12:00 – 13:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | other topics
Meta and fact-checking: lessons learned in challenging times +info►
Join this panel to hear how Meta’s fact-checking program has evolved and strengthened over the recent few years and their learnings in tackling unique misinformation. Sponsored by Meta.
12:00 – 13:00 > Auditorium San Francesco al Prato | #ijf22talks
When the State attacks: journalism under fire in the world’s biggest democracy +info►
#ijf22talk by Rana Ayyub. Moderated by Julie Posetti. According to Reporters Without Borders, India is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist. Four Indian journalists were killed doing their work in 2021 and many more were arrested, detained, charged and beaten for practising journalism. In the disputed territory of Kashmir, independent journalism has been effectively criminalised. And Indian journalists who dare to report critically on Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu Nationalist government are often prolifically abused by digital lynch mobs linked to the State. Women journalists are the biggest targets of such coordinated disinformation-laced hate campaigns, and Muslim journalists also come under heavy fire. I am a Muslim woman journalist. The One Free Press Coalition has identified me as one of the world’s 10 most urgent cases of a journalist under attack and researchers at the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) consider me a globally emblematic case of gender-based online violence. But this debilitating harassment doesn’t stay online. The barrage of rape and death threats I receive daily online are now accompanied by legal harassment and economic abuse. My abusers’ objective is clear: they don’t just want to gag me and discredit my journalism, they want to destroy me. And what all this signals for Indian democracy is even more disturbing.
14:00 – 15:00 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | journalist safety & well-being
Overcoming the trolls: political polarization, disinformation and journalist targets +info►
In 2019, Brazilian political journalist Patricia Campos Mello, who had previously reported from hot spots and conflict zones around the world, hired her first ever bodyguard in the wake of a relentless trolling campaign following her reporting on President Jair Bolsonaro. Journalist Maria Ressa, who was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize, has faced relentless trolling, accused of being a traitor especially after Rappler, the publication she co-founded, published an exposé on paid trolls. This “virtual lynching” is just one example of targeted online hate and harassment that is increasingly common and politicized. The resulting intimidation can lead to self-censorship, hindering the press from public interest reporting that holds the powerful to account. Journalists reporting on politics, corruption and crime can easily find themselves in the crosshairs of state-sponsored harassment and disinformation campaigns, often helped by PR firms or state-inspired volunteers. Moreover, the politicized attacks seek to discredit, shame and delegitimize journalists at a time when trust in the media is scant around the world. Publicly vilifying journalists, and framing them as conveyers of “fake news” is a or having a hidden agenda, crucial step in depleting trust while feeding the masses a State-driven narrative, including disinformation. Opening with a brief overview of the existing research and range of state trolling practices –panelists will share their own experiences, contextualize the political nature of these attacks, what responses were helpful and what challenges remain. When government officials or political parties are behind the coordinated harassment, how can journalists respond and what role should social media platforms play in disabling these campaigns? CPJ will lead a conversation to explore the links between politically motivated virtual lynchings and the broader effect on trust in the media. The panel will evaluate existing efforts and coordination, and seek to identify best practices for how journalists can stay safe in the wake of harassment campaigns or state-sponsored trolling. This discussion will take a pragmatic approach to the question of what can be done to defuse the weaponization of political coverage, and ensure journalists can continue their coverage freely and safely Organised in association with Committee to Protect Journalists.
14:00 – 15:00 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | data journalism
The 2021 state of data journalism survey +info►
How do data journalists work? Who do they collaborate with, and what are the latest trends and sought after skills within the field? These are just some of the questions The State of Data Journalism Survey 2021 asked journalists from around the world. From identifying favourite data tools to sharing thoughts on the future of the field, this panel discussion will delve into the current state of data journalism. Moderated by Lars Boering (Executive Director, EJC), this panel will kick off with a summary of the key findings by Tara Kelly (EJC), followed by discussions with Brigitte Alfter (Arena for Journalism) and Clayton Aldern (Grist). Organised in association with European Journalism Centre.
14:00 – 15:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | climate crisis
Climate change: the do’s and don’ts of ‘solutions journalism’ +info►
Some editors and outlets have turned to “solutions journalism” as a way to deliver upbeat stories on climate change. These stories illustrate the ways people are trying to solve environmental challenges and mitigate the effects of climate change. Many of these stories give people a sense of agency rather than framing the climate challenge as a hopeless cause. Done poorly, however, solutions stories can be misleading, misguided or vehicles for greenwashing. How can we avoid these storytelling pitfalls? In this panel discussion, we discuss tips and best practices for tackling so-called solutions stories. Organised in association with Reuters.
15:30 – 16:30 > Auditorium San Francesco al Prato | country/region focus
Yemen: portraying violated beauty +info►
The conflict in Yemen is among the least reported and represented by the media around the world. The reasons are many, not least the extreme difficulty of access for international reporters and, for locals, the extreme risks of being killed, arrested, threatened by the militias. But once inside, this country and its people are striking for the extreme beauty of places, landscapes, architecture, faces. Thus, photographing and describing this country at war poses uncommon challenges for reporters. How to reconcile the story of the war and its load of destruction, poverty, deformity, with the sense of objective beauty that this place offers to an observer? How can we not fall into voyeurism in the face of the necessary representation of malnutrition? How, at the same time, can we not fall into mannerism, privileging only this beauty, without giving depth to the cruelty of a conflict that has lasted for seven years and shows no sign of ending?
15:30 – 16:30 > Palazzo Sorbello | media under attack
Keeping quiet: self-censorship in today’s media environment +info►
The latest revelations of leaked directives issued by Chinese authorities to state media outlets come as no surprise. The country is considered “not free” in Reporters Without Borders’s World Press Freedom Index, and holds the dubious honor of being the “world’s biggest jailer of press freedom defender.” Surveillance, harassment, fear of arrest, or worse means that many journalists and writers must censor themselves in order to continue working at all. And China is hardly alone. From India to Belarus, journalists face threats and intimidation intended to keep them from reporting. While some cases have made headlines, many others have not, and the extent and impact of internalized “censorship norms” on how journalists carry out their work often is not seen at all. How prevalent is self-censorship today, and what can be done – and by whom – to ensure the sustainability of independent media? Organised in association with Project Syndicate.
15:30 – 16:30 > Sala della Vaccara, Palazzo dei Priori | journalism & society
Surviving the extinction: from post-truth and infodemic to public interest media +info►
At the December 2021 Democracy Summit, President Joe Biden committed critical seed money to a new initiative to save independent media from “extinction”. President Emmanuel Macron also pledged to contribute. This is good news at the time when advertising has moved to tech platforms leaving conventional media with US$30bn losses in 2020 alone; media are exposed to political pressure and co-option; and are struggling to engage across all of society, unable to reach the “unnewsed” media consumers. And more good news: the post-truth Trump era and the “infodemic” of misinformation spread during the Covid-19 pandemic, have driven a huge increase in audiences to trustworthy media! But, the media’s capacity to provide trustworthy information for all is diminishing rapidly. Is public interest media (PIM), which is the focus of the new initiative supported by some world leaders, an answer? Can PIM attract the audience which do not trust journalism anymore? Is PIM capable of reaching the electorate across all of society? Is it capable of including “others” in public debates on issues of common interest, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender, and age? Can it attract the audience which is not interested in conventional ways of getting the news? Is infotainment inclusive of diversity an answer? Organised in association with Media Diversity Institute.
15:30 – 16:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | business models, investment & funding
The foundations that support journalism: why they do it, how they do it, and what “success” looks like +info►
For most editors and newsrooms, the thought of asking for money to support editorial priorities is a highly daunting prospect. How do you match foundation support and real editorial priorities? Once you do, how do you develop realistic budgets, what is expected of the newsroom when it comes to delivering a philanthropy project, and if these arrangements are described as “partnerships” what does that actually mean? On this panel, you will hear directly from three leading philanthropic funders about what they fund, how funding decisions are made, and what success looks like. Ample time will be provided for the audience to ask the funders all their burning questions about philanthropy support for journalism! Sponsored by The Guardian.
15:30 – 16:30 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | other topics
Dignity for dead women: how to report femicide +info►
Every three days in the UK, a woman is murdered by her partner or ex-partner. These killings are often the endpoint to a sustained period of coercive control, yet journalists have not historically been trained on how to report on these deaths with accuracy or sensitivity. Level Up have produced the UK’s first media guidelines on how to report fatal domestic abuse – which are backed by press regulators. The organisation run training sessions in newsrooms, in collaboration with survivors of domestic abuse and journalists. The media guidelines are available here. In this session, journalists will learn about the specifics and nuances of domestic abuse, how to report fatal domestic abuse sensitively (from sources to images and how to manage court proceedings), and the powerful role that journalists play in reducing the number of women killed overall. Organised in association with Level Up.
15:30 – 16:30 > Sala del Dottorato | AI
Dusting for prints: the rise of digital forensic reporting labs +info►
The public no longer trusts a hypothesis supported only by a few anecdotes. Receipts are required – whether it is documents or datasets. Newsrooms and nonprofits are at the forefront of building innovative digital research labs that use automation, computation and forensic techniques to reveal important truths. Join industry leaders for a conversation on the rising popularity of forensic reporting, what digital research labs empower us to uncover, and how they help us report deeply about issues that matter on a global scale. Organised in association with The Markup.
15:30 – 16:30 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | podcasting, audio, video, AR & VR
Welcome to the metaverse: a dive into tools and products for storytelling +info►
In this interactive session we will recap the 10 things we learned at the INMA XR masterclass series on how newsrooms can creatively use and report on XR. We will summarise what it takes to future-proof your newsroom and take a deeper look at tools, product and technology to set you up for the journey into the Metaverse. Sponsored by INMA and Meta.
17:00 – 18:00 > Palazzo Sorbello | country/region focus
The future of Afghanistan coverage +info►
In this panel, Afghan and foreign journalists will discuss the future of Afghanistan coverage at a time when scores of local journalists have been forced to flee the country, others have stayed behind and continued to operate at great personal risk, and global attention to Afghanistan has dwindled just as the country was plunged into a massive humanitarian crisis. Panelists will discuss the challenges of doing journalism in Afghanistan today and the obligation of foreign-based journalists, and particularly those in the U.S., to continue covering a country they have been so deeply invested in long after public interest dies down. They also discuss the relationship between foreign journalists covering crises and conflict and the local journalists they so often rely on, the power imbalances at play, and the responsibility of foreign-based journalists and newsrooms in both ensuring the safety of their local partners and not letting go of the story. Organised in association with The Intercept.
17:00 – 18:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | sustainability
Saving journalism: assessing media viability efforts in the age of COVID +info►
Global efforts to sustain journalism as a public good have increased in urgency in parallel with escalating pandemic-era threats. Newspaper sales in low- and middle-income countries have been particularly hard hit by the crisis. Increased traffic on digital platforms has largely failed to convert to effective revenue increases for such independent news media. As a result, there have been unprecedented closures, contractions, and job losses across the industry. Journalists were declared an “essential service” in many countries during the pandemic, which galvanized those in the media development and policy community to find ways to assist struggling outlets, preserve independent journalism and safeguard the flow of quality information given its vital role in democracy and development, not least in the face of disinformation about the pandemic. But key questions still remain: How is independent public interest media to be paid for? And what are the best ways to make quality journalism self-sustainable? This panel will present an UN-commissioned assessment of international responses to hybrid media viability threats and share recommendations for action designed to stimulate efforts at the national and global levels. Case studies in diversified revenue streams will also be discussed. Anchored by media viability expert Dr. Anya Schiffrin (School of International & Public Affairs, Columbia University), who is the lead author of a new UNESCO policy brief on the theme, the panel will also feature her co-authors Dr. Julie Posetti (ICFJ) and Prof. Emily Bell (Tow Center, Columbia University), along with Branko Brkic – Editor-in-Chief of the resilient and plucky South African outlet, Daily Maverick. Organised in association with International Center for Journalists.
17:00 – 18:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | local journalism
How local news can empower civic engagement and the fight against misinformation +info►
With so many seemingly intractable problems facing societies worldwide, negative “if it bleeds, it leads” headlines are leaving news consumers anxious and demoralized. Meanwhile, misinformation and disinformation is rampant on social media, leading to polarized discourse and communities. That’s why it’s no longer enough to passively consume the news — it’s more important now than ever to take action on the issues we learn about in the news. Local media outlets may be the key to galvanizing news consumers to action, especially since civic engagement is strongly tied to local news habits. Those who have a reliable source of local news are more likely to participate in their communities, vote and trust their neighbors. Local media outlets also stem the tide of misinformation and disinformation by delivering concrete, on-the-ground reporting. So, they can help build the necessary bridges between people to stop polarization and encourage them to collaborate to solve local problems. Organised in association with Online News Association.
17:00 – 18:00 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | social media platforms
Regulating Big Tech for democracy +info►
A global consensus has emerged that technology platforms should be regulated. The European Union and Governments from the United States to Australia have sought to reduce the power of these platforms and curtail the dominance of a few. Yet regulatory responses remain fragmented, with some focused solely on competition while others seek to address issues around harm, privacy, and freedom of expression. The Regulating Big Tech for Democracy panel introduces the 2021 book by Tambini and Moore with a similar title. It condenses the vibrant tech policy debate into operational take aways for journalists and publishers as well as academics and policy makers seeking to address one of the key issues facing democracies today: platform dominance and its impact on journalism and society. We will explore existing and future policy on data, antitrust, competition, freedom of expression, jurisdiction, fake news, elections, liability, and accountability, while also identifying potential policy impacts on global communication, user rights, public welfare, and economic activity.
17:00 – 18:00 > Auditorium San Francesco al Prato | journalism & society
Journalistic business as usual is a disaster for democracy and civilization +info►
When basic freedoms — including freedom of expression — are under attack in democracies around the world, and when climate change is accelerating, staying with traditional newsroom practices isn’t just problematic. It’s malpractice. And it’s contributing to existential threats to societies and the planet’s ability to support them. We need structural change in journalism to make a difference. We’ll explain what is needed, including unprecedented collaborations to put these threats in their proper context. The most essential need is to recognize that business as usual must end.
17:00 – 18:00 > Sala del Dottorato | climate crisis
How to tell climate change stories visually +info►
For decades climate change was a story about what’s to come. Not anymore. Today, we see climate change manifesting across the world – in heat-fueled hurricanes and megafires, in rising seas swamping shorelines, in disease, deforestation and coral bleaching, and in climate migrants driven to new lands. Here, multimedia environmental journalists discuss their favorite images and stories “depicting” climate change, and their tips for using images to engage readers in this complex story. Organised in association with Reuters.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | social media platforms
TikTok vs Instagram Reels +info►
TikTok is probably the biggest social media success story of the last few years, especially among young users. Few platforms have had the immediate impact that TikTok has among the Gen Z audience; they’ve taken to TikTok to be entertained, to interact with each other and to get the news. In a clear pattern, other platforms have tried implementing TikTok features that make it so unique. One of these is Instagram. The Instagram Reels feature, launched in the summer of 2021, capitalizes on short videos that users can create and accompany with music, sound effects and a variety of filters. Sounds familiar? It does to publishers too. But how does Instagram Reels compare with TikTok and does Instagram succeed in making the copy more successful than the original, as it did with Stories? In this panel, Deutsche Welle Audience Development team members thoroughly compare TikTok and Instagram Reels with each other and reveal how their newsrooms (DW Espanol and DW Euromaxx on Instagram and DW Berlin Fresh and Deutsch Lernen) manage to attract the eyes of under-25s, looking at data from accounts with a strategy on both TikTok and Instagram Reels with a big focus on what topics are the most successful on each platform and why? Social media users do not necessarily scroll through their feeds looking for news, however, they stumble upon it while checking other content and connecting with others. The bottom-line is should a publisher produce content that belongs both to TikTok and Instagram Reels? And how to turn a user from a scroller to clicker? Organised in association with Deutsche Welle.
18:30 – 19:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | disinformation
The need for digital provenance: how the Content Authenticity Initiative is addressing mis/disinformation +info►
Join executives from AFP, the BBC and the VII Photo Agency to discuss the problem of mis/disinformation and how their organizations are tackling it, including through their membership of the Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative, an important and fast-growing community of 650+ members, founded by Adobe, The New York Times and Twitter. Sponsored by Adobe and the Content Authenticity Initiative.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | diversity, equity & inclusion
Beyond representation: how can coverage reflect the world more equitably? +info►
Diverse representation in the newsroom is one thing, but how can the framing of stories more accurately represent the world? Starting from shifts in the way news is covered, the speaker explore how understanding news is different for different people can reach more and diverse audiences. Sponsored by Open Society Foundations.
18:30 – 19:30 > Palazzo Sorbello | collaborative journalism
How ICIJ made the Pandora Papers a reality +info►
In 2021, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published the Pandora Papers, the largest-ever journalism collaboration in history, which uncovered the widespread misuse of offshore vehicles in tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions by power players, celebrities, criminals, and more than 300 current and former heads of state and politicians. The collaboration required a massive data effort that started with the extraction of information from 14 different offshore service providers. ICIJ shared the records with more than 600 journalists from around the world. As a result of the investigation, ICIJ and its partners exposed the role of the US as one of the world’s largest and most secretive tax havens; they uncovered the hidden fortunes of politically powerful people including Czech Republic’s then prime minister, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Ecuador’s president Guillermo Lasso, and Chile’s then president Sebastian Pinera. The revelations led to impeachment proceedings in Chile, and public inquiries into politicians’ holdings in Ecuador, the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Brazil, and other countries. The global reporting team also shed light on the role of offshore vehicles in facilitating the alleged looting and secret trade of Khmer relics, and the perpetuation of environmental crimes. The panelists will talk about how ICIJ made the Pandora Papers a reality, by going behind the scenes and exploring three pillars of this project: How to develop successful media partnerships, while protecting and training partners in countries with weak or nonexisting press rights. How to dig through 11.9 million files to find stories of public interest, while also making the most of open sources and focusing on storytelling. How to make sense of data coming from multiple providers, and make it resonate across stories and countries. Organised in association with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani | community, engagement & trust
Trust boosters: driving innovation in public service media +info►
In an age of information abundance and streaming platforms, some call the concept of public service media into question, but the public doesn’t seem to think so. Throughout the pandemic audiences have resorted to traditional publicly funded media in record numbers. Trust figures have risen almost everywhere and outcompeted commercial media. But what do public broadcasters do to secure their relevance and legitimacy particularly with younger generations? How do they manage innovation and overcome silos in mostly old-style, hierarchical organisations? And how do they state their case amidst political attacks? In this panel we will present findings of the latest EBU News Report: What’s Next: Public Service Journalism in an Age of Distraction, Opinion, and Information Abundance and discuss them with seasoned journalists from public broadcasting.
20:00 – 20:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | country/region focus
Ukraine media crisis response: lessons and challenges ahead +info►
In the hours after the Russian invasion started a coalition including The Fix Media, Are We Europe, Jnomics, and the Media Development Foundation, together with multiple media partners, started working to support colleagues in Ukraine. This workshop will focus on the practical aspects of responding to the crisis and activities being carried in support for Ukrainian media, including emergency funding, war-time PPE logistics, leveraging crypto, managing communications, operational and tech support. The workshop will further look at the learnings achieved and the road ahead to support Ukrainian media. Organised in association with The Fix.