Our personal weekly selection about journalism and innovation. Stay up to date by subscribing to our Newsletter or by following our Telegram channel, and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
Edited by Marco Nurra
Presenting #ijf19. The 2019 festival will be the best yet. More than 650 speakers – of whom 49% are women – will take part in about 280 sessions. This is a condensed version (about one third) of the festival programme, divided category by category.
Why the news industry must commit to gender equality. Women might make up 50 per cent of the world’s population, but when it comes to the news media, there’s a striking lack of representation. As we mark International Women’s Day on 8 March, it’s a time to reflect not only on the problem of gender inequality in the news but also solutions to reverse the imbalance.
🔔 We’ll tackle the topic of gender equality at #ijf19 on these panels: “metoo in the global South“, “metoo in India: a cultural revolution“, “Telling gender stories innovatively in the #metoo era“, “Women’s leadership in media“, “Women in journalism: beyond the #metoo moment“, “Amplifying women’s authoritative voice in media“, “Suppressed or unbelievable: the polarised perception of Muslim women in Western media“, “Improving the safety of women journalists both on and offline“, “Back to the past: the global attack on women, rights and social achievements“, “Sexual harrassment in the newsroom: #metoo in Egypt“, “The great balancing act: when your work story is in the way of your life story“
On International Women’s Day, CPJ highlights jailed female journalists. At least 33 of the 251 journalists in jail at the time of CPJ’s prison census are women. At least one of those–Turkish reporter and artist Zehra Dogan–was released in February after serving a sentence on anti-state charges. The four female journalists jailed in Saudi Arabia were detained over their criticism of the kingdom’s ban on women driving.
Russia advances legislation on ‘fake news’ and ‘disrespecting authorities’. The Committee to Protect Journalist called on Russia to drop proposed legislation advanced in the country’s parliament that would allow courts to jail and fine people who use the internet to spread “fake news” or disrespect government officials and state symbols, including President Vladimir Putin. The bills would also allow Russian authorities to block websites that publish the offending material.
Facebook says the future is private messaging, not public posts. “When it comes to journalism, Facebook’s reorientation seems to take it even further away from being the kind of public distribution outlet many media companies have come to rely on.”
🔔 Mathew Ingram, chief digital writer for the Columbia Journalism Review, will be a #ijf19 speaker
New Yorker publishes eye-opening exposé on Trump’s relationship with Fox News. Mayer’s article contains much we know already. But its principal value lies in its synthesis and ordering of alarming smaller details that we, as news consumers, can easily become inured to. After Mayer’s piece published yesterday, it sparked renewed debate of Fox’s ties to Trump, including on Fox’s cable rivals, CNN and MSNBC.
How local TV news stations are playing a major (and enthusiastic) role in spreading the Momo hoax. Other participants: Fire stations, and police departments, and schools.
Media education and change. If media will be rethought and rebuilt from the ashes, what principles might govern how we prepare our students to become authors of that change?
🔔 Jeff Jarvis will be a #ijf19 speaker
Five recommendations (and many examples) for how to nurture engagement in European newsrooms. The Engaged Journalism Accelerator, boosting a dozen European media organizations’ engagement strategies, is working to change that continent’s reporting culture and compiled some recommendations for (and solid examples of) news outlets putting engagement at their core.
🔔 Kathryn Geels, director of the Engaged Journalism Accelerator at the European Journalism Centre, will be a #ijf19 speaker
How can we design AI for the best long-term interests of humanity? In this exclusive excerpt from her new book, “The Big Nine,” Amy Webb outlines the need for courageous leadership to prevent emerging technologies like AI from getting out of hand and harming society.
🔔 We’ll tackle the topic of AI at #ijf19 on these panels: “Constitutional democracy and technology in the age of artificial intelligence“, “AI in the newsroom“, “Google News Initiative: AI in the newsroom“
Civil is launching next week with almost 100 news organizations on board from around the world. Civil is a community-run platform for independent journalism founded to advance trust and sustainability for journalism worldwide. The community members are news organizations and the public they serve.
🔔 Vivian Schiller, CEO of the Civil Foundation, will be a #ijf19 speaker