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Thinking the Unthinkable: Are We Losing the News? In the midst of our preoccupation with providing quality products to clients and readers, Prince Dotun Oyelade, Special Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State on Public Communications, drew my attention to an important issue that was the theme of the 60th Congress of the International Press […]

Thinking the Unthinkable: Are We Losing the News?

In the midst of our preoccupation with providing quality products to clients and readers, Prince Dotun Oyelade, Special Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State on Public Communications, drew my attention to an important issue that was the theme of the 60th Congress of the International Press Institute IPI. The Vienna based organisation is a global network of media executives and the oldest journalism body in the world. The theme of the Congress was a reflection on the digital revolution and its impact on the methods used in information dissemination. Will this new media phase out newspapers or reduce their presence on the news management and dissemination sector? Prince Dotun also had other concerns about losing those who cover the news. His report of the IPI Congress, edited to tease out the topics is an interesting one. Excerpts:

Losing the News or the Men?

‘To my mind and as contentious as this title is, the issue is more of losing the men than losing the news. Last year alone, 110 journalists lost their lives in various crises all over the world.  This year, 52 journalists have died and going by exacerbating tension around the world, we are still counting. In other words, apart from Afghanistan and Pakistan where Western soldiers are engaged in a virtual death-wish, there is no other profession that stands endangered than ours.

In a smaller room of the 5th floor, some of us took up Naomi Hunt of the IPI on the issue of press freedom. Mostly Nigerians and South Africans, we submitted to IPI that it needs to make itself more relevant and de-emphasis the weather-beaten issue of Press freedom when indeed, other issues like corruption are taking the front burner among leaders of the world.

‘Lost News”: The Verdict From Presenters

‘Lost News’ was treated by an impressive array of speakers including Sarah Montagne, a presenter with the BBC, Ferial H. Affajee, Editor, City Press, Johannesburg and Elimar Thevessen, Editor-in-Chief, German TV. The crunch issue was whether the media was still providing the public with the information it needs.  It was a split house that debated if the media has not largely compromised itself by prejudices that make it to listen to  its own counselling, or to distort or obliterate from the public, information it conveniently deems the public does  not desire.  In the same vein, envelope journalism was also discussed!

The Congress argued that the younger ones are less keen on watching or listening to the news.  Half of them it was suggested, see news as containing what interests the older ones i.e politics, industries, economy and such hard-nosed stuff. A section of participants  believe that the youths prefer less serious presentation like comic and because of the fragmented lives the youths live, they want their news in a hurry; snappy, to-the-point, quick.   27 year old Errol Barnett, the CNN Anchor took his place  comfortably while moderating the topic “FOUND NEWS?  The new platforms for Delivering Information”.  He, more than anyone else drove home the point about youth restiveness in their reception of conventional news platform.

Alternative news platform such as google, U-Tube, I-Tube, I-Pod, blog and twitter, have brought much revolution to news delivery and this has been demonstrated in many stories like the Haiti devastation and Ushaidi website during the Kenyan election crisis.  Ushaidi by the way is Swahili word for testimony.

As more people, particularly the youths find satisfaction with the new platform, it may well spell the death knell of conventional news gathering and dissemination as we know them today. In virtually all the discussions throughout the IPI 60th Congress, some facts played up. For instance, we agreed that proper investigative news are in short supply either out of prejudice, economic considerations or the dilemma of deadline. While we are contented portraying the Somali pirates as vagabonds for instance, we refuse to look the way of Western merchants who send their ships to the high seas to catch exotic fish which are rare at home.

Other topics during the Congress included, “What’s working where and why? “Breaking News” was another topic that drew flak from some participants who reasoned that the competition to be the first to break the news, otherwise referred to as ‘scoop,’ has relegated depth in favour of razmatazz.

Pontificating on Democracy and Ethical Morality

The last day of the Congress was held in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, another Central European country,one hour drive from Vienna by road and a little longer by sea. Iveta Radicova, the Prime Minister of Slovakia, breezed into the expansive conference hall without fuss and waxed philosophically on democracy.

‘Democracy; she enthused, ‘is like love. If you don’t nurture it, it dies’ Naturally, the men chuckled and clapped.  They have been treated to strait-laced mundane discussions for days and could do with such distractions even if it comes from a pretty woman of means. Obviously, this Professor of history, who got to power only in June, sure knows how to get her votes. Arrested now by the sheer weight of her charm, the distinguished audience listened raptly. ‘You can have a perfect law for the media, but this does not guarantee freedom unless you have ethical morality.  We must know what are the bounds, what are the boundaries?,’  as her voice quivered.

Not until Mike Awoyinfa, master of human angle stories, asked her, ‘What is the worst thing the media can do to you?’ and she replied, “Attack my daughter in the press, but they wouldn’t listen”.  At that point, “ethical morality” which she had referred to earlier took the proper perspective. The quiet in the hall made the splutter of river Danube hugging the Kaminski Hotel River Park to be heard and the rancorous clapping of a bemused audience saved the awkward   moment.

…and the Media Honoured their Heroes and Heroines

Perhaps the most memorable event of the congress was the Award Ceremony and dinner at the Vienna City Hall. While the ambience of the venue was distinctively medieval, the panache was a glowing tribute to the Austrian exquisite taste.  Though the gastronomy and the Grunner Veltiher  (2009) wine were a connoisseur’s delight, the heroics of many of the awardees, both dead and alive, told before a  stunned audience, brought everyone down to earth.On this night, IPI honoured 60 World Press Freedom Heroes to mark 60 years of defending Press Freedom. Among the new heroes was Lasantha Wickrematunge, the brave editor of the Sri Lankan newspaper, Daily Leader, who was gruesomely murdered last year.

Pretty May Chidiac, the Lebanese TV journalist who lost her leg and arm in a car bomb attack this year.  Her account was heartrending. Heinz Fisher, the President, Republic of Austria, whose wife moved to the beat of the orchestra throughout, opined during dinner that Press Freedom is a never-ending-project because succeeding governments always seek to undermine it.  He said, “free speech’ is the whole thing; the whole ball game.  ‘Free Speech is life itself.’

This year, Africa got a deserved recognition as Radio Okapi of the Democratic Republic of Congo won the “IPI free media Pioneer 2010”.  Last year, Novaya Gazettal of Moscow won it, for being a pain in the neck of Putin and Medvedev. It is hoped that this year’s Congress will kindle renewed efforts to improve the overall quality of journalism worldwide and that by next year when we look at the balance sheet, it will be with measured glee.