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 del Dottorato | diversity, equity & inclusion
Why diversity isn’t changing your newsroom culture: cultural tipping points and how to bring about change +info►
In 2021 Marcus Ryder wrote a policy paper for The Guardian newspaper looking at how to change the culture of newsrooms, specifically when it comes to diversity. The newsroom being “demographically representative” of the country they work in was not enough. Instead Ryder looked at “tipping points” of set staff percentages, and key departments that need to be targeted.
09:00 – 10:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | media under attack
Journalists in exile +info►
Investigative journalists and independent publications have always been a thorn in the side of those in power. For centuries corrupt governments have used censorship and random arrests to silence truthtellers. But in recent years the crackdown on independent media has gotten a whole lot worse. In countries like Turkey, Belarus, and Azerbaijan where the state controls most of the media, scores of journalists have been jailed, many publications shut down, and reporters forced to flee their countries to escape threats to their safety. Undeterred by their forced departure, however, some of the exile journalists continue to report about abuse of power, government wrongdoing in a bid to keep their fellow citizens informed from afar. Some reporters are even starting up publications in exile. Speakers on this panel will discuss attempts to silence free media and the battle to report on oppressive regimes from exile. The highly experienced and credible reporters will share their experience from living and reporting in exile and will try to answer some of the following questions: What are the challenges exile journalists face? How do you cover a country/region from abroad? How new technologies can aid exile journalism?
09:00 – 10:00 > Palazzo Sorbello | legal protection for journalists
SLAPPs and legal harassment: fighting back through the courts +info►
Journalists around the world are under legal attack like never before. SLAPP lawsuits and legal harassment, designed to drain resources and chill critical reporting, are becoming increasingly common around the world. Cases are often meritless, but burden journalists with the cost of a legal defence. Most journalists face these threats alone, without the protection of media houses or effective legal representation. In this panel, we’ll hear from journalists who each have their own experiences of legal attacks associated with their work and have found ways to fight back. Organised in association with Media Defence.
09:00 – 10:00 > Sala della Vaccara, Palazzo dei Priori | climate crisis
Narratives of climate change +info►
All eyes are on climate change: it is a pervasive, complex, systemic issue. Scientists and experts are needed to understand and deal with it, but they are not enough. So between journalism, data visualisation, video games and infographics, we invite you on a journey through forms and languages to tell what climate change is and why it affects us all, from policymaking to everyday life. Organised in association with CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change.
10:30 – 11:30 > Auditorium San Francesco al Prato | country/region focus
How Bolsonaro’s “Hate cabinet” works +info►
Bolsonaro’s administration built a disinformation machine known as the “Hate cabinet” run by his sons and advisers to spread fake news and attack journalists, politicians, artists and media outlets that are critical of him. How this ecosystem of lies has worked in recent years and how they are preparing for the 2022 electoral campaign against former president Lula.
10:30 – 11:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | innovation
Why innovation is still needed! +info►
Looking back to look forward at 3 years of innovation funding across the world. A presentation of the main global trends featuring recipients and jurors. Sponsored by Google News Initiative.
10:30 – 11:30 > Sala del Dottorato | journalism & society
How to fight your biased brain +info►
Our brains use plenty of short-cuts to process the complex world around us, filter relevant information and allow us to make decisions. On the one hand, a useful optimization process, this also bears some dangers: it makes us everything but an “objective and neutral” information processor and decision maker. Although well-known in psychology and neuroscience, many journalists are not aware of the biases that shape human perception and memory. And it does not “stop” there: algorithms, commonly assumed to be bias-free, are susceptible to these biases in a similar manner, because they are programmed by humans after all and reproduce distorted realities. In a media world increasingly influenced by algorithmic systems, journalists need to be able to recognize their own and algorithmic biases. In our panel we want to examine psychological biases and potential counter strategies that are already established e.g. in medical diagnostics from different perspectives. How can media professionals and institutions act adequately to avoid discriminatory effects – and what possibilities do citizens have to react? How can we prevent data-based research from being distorted by background effects? In short: how do we protect ourselves – and our environment – from an all too singular and biased view of the world? We consider this competence to be increasingly relevant, especially in view of the challenges in analyzing and communicating abstract long-lasting topics, front and foremost the climate crisis. Based on concrete projects and scientific insights, we will present possible solutions and discuss them with the audience.
10:30 – 11:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | AI
Using AI to tackle ‘impossible’ investigations +info►
AI can serve as a powerful tool for journalists looking to wrangle huge datasets and spot corruption. But what does this look like in actual investigative reporting projects? Join a conversation with journalists who used machine learning to investigate land banks in Ohio; reveal the scope of polluting, abandoned oil wells in Texas; and map the booming gold mining industry in the Amazon rainforest. Organised in association with The Pulitzer Center and sponsored by Open Society Foundations.
0:30 – 11:30 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | climate crisis
Following the money behind the backlash against climate change action +info►
The world has entered a new phase in the fight against climate breakdown. World leaders are no longer denying the need for action to tackle the crisis, and many countries have announced significant measures to decarbonise their economies. But these moves have been met with a growing, organised pushback against climate change action. An increasingly international group of populist politicians, lobbyists, think tanks and corporations are actively trying to prevent action on climate targets, often funded by money from anonymous sources. In the UK, for example, many of the same players who funded the Brexit campaign are behind moves to push back against Net Zero targets. Fake grassroots campaigns have emerged, grabbing headlines, and using the same ‘dark money’ playbook. Already climate change action is emerging as a major political divide. Over the last four years, openDemocracy has followed the ‘dark money’ that flowed through international political ruptures, from the Brexit referendum campaign to ultraconservative movements across European and North America. This panel would bring together expert journalists to share their experience of investigating transnational networks and flows of dark money lobbying against climate change action, explore how this issue is likely to develop in the future and ask how a network of small, independent media organisations like openDemocracy have come to be at the forefront of investigative work into this issues. Organised in association with openDemocracy.
10:30 – 11:30 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | collaborative journalism
Cross-field collaboration: how and why journalists and civil-society organizations around the world are working together +info►
The panel will outline findings from a recently completed research project looking at collaboration between civil society and journalism organizations. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, this 12-month investigation catalogued more than 170 such partnerships around the globe, involving more than 1,000 organizations. The presentation will discuss both quantitative and qualitative findings about this type of cross-field collaboration, including the types of organizations and topics usually involved and covered in these projects, benefits and drawbacks, broad differences observed between projects in the global north and south, the role of trust and journalistic culture, the tension between objectivity and advocacy, and actionable takeaways. Organised in association with Center for Cooperative Media.
12:00 – 13:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | diversity, equity & inclusion
Decolonizing global media coverage +info►
Many publications want to improve diversity and inclusion in their newsrooms – others, like The New Humanitarian’s, want to go even further to decolonize our journalism. For this discussion, we’ll share what we’ve learned in our ongoing journey of decolonising our journalism and discuss with a number of colleagues from across the media space who will share their experiences. The New Humanitarian is an independent, non-profit newsroom reporting from the heart of conflict, disasters and other crises. While most newsrooms fail to adequately represent their audiences and the people they serve, this is particularly true in coverage of humanitarian news. Conflict, disasters, climate change, epidemics, refugees and famine are all topics that tend to see higher rates of parachute and “white saviour” journalism and that often reflect only the worst of a society’s reality. We want to do things differently and lead by example in doing so. The audience will come out of this session with a better understanding of what decolonising media coverage means and ideas for how to get started doing it, from the organisational level to individual. Organised in association with The New Humanitarian.
12:00 – 13:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | innovation
The new explainer +info►
In a complex media ecosystem, news organizations have a responsibility to not just tell the public what’s going on — but clear up what is true and what isn’t, to put the story in context and to explain what it means and why it matters. In this session, the BBC’s Ros Atkins, who has mastered the form and amassed tens of millions of views on subjects ranging from Boris Johnson to tensions around Taiwan, will discuss how he approaches his work to drive understanding.
12:00 – 13:00 > Palazzo Sorbello | sustainability
A sustainable future for newsrooms +info►
The news industry continues to face tough challenges as the way people digest information changes, this discussion aims to identify these core digital challenges and ways to equip newsrooms with the latest insights to strengthen digital subscriptions capabilities and grow reader revenue. From products to new business models, this panel will centre around how smaller and local news publishers can achieve financial sustainability into the future. Sponsored by Google News Initiative.
12:00 – 13:00 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | social media platforms
Should media organizations and journalists accept funding from Google and Meta? +info►
Over the past few years, Google and Meta have given hundreds of millions of dollars to journalistic organisations, and have said they plan to give away hundreds of millions more. Some believe this kind of funding creates a conflict of interest. Should media organizations and journalists accept funding from Google and Meta, and if they do, what are the risks that come with this financing?
12:00 – 13:00 > Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani | disinformation
Mapping conspiracies +info►
What can the spread of QAnon from the US to Europe teach us about tackling disinformation and understanding countries’ vulnerabilities to viral conspiracy theories. Lighthouse Reports and Bellingcat have documented the spread of the QAnon to seven target countries in Europe, building a quantitative and qualitative understanding of the phenomenon. What can this experience tell us about the value of having an evidence base of local QAnon networks and narratives? How can data science support reporting on conspiracies and how can tools like Telegram scrapers be useful for analysis? While many analysts expected the conspiracy to end when Q went silent, the movement has remained active, compared in some quarters to a viral epidemic and in others to a religion. Europe’s experience of QAnon holds important lessons for journalists, policy-makers and anyone working to counter the effects of disinformation. Organised in association with Lighthouse Reports and Bellingcat.
12:00 – 13:00 > Sala del Dottorato | other topics
Critical reporting on technology and technology policy-making +info►
In our automated, digitised and (allegedly) smart society, technology reporting is increasingly crucial. And yet it is not easy to stand up to the power (and influence) of Big Tech on the one hand and to bad policy-making on the other. Leaders in both technology and politics are jealous of their privileges, and thrive in opacity. Also, they often demote criticism to Luddism, thus delegitimising independent journalism in the name of “innovation”. This panel will discuss how technology and policy outlets The Markup and Netzpolitik work to provide rigorous, independent journalism in the service of democracy nonetheless. Journalist and author Fabio Chiusi will ask their respective founders, Julia Angwin and Markus Beckedahl, to detail how they provide accurate, evidence-based critiques to Silicon Valley’s received view and mantras, while at the same time keeping tech policy in check.
12:00 – 13:00 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | country/region focus
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: how local journalists are telling the story for their communities and the world +info►
As Russian troops invaded Ukraine, advancing through the country, local journalists played a crucial role not only providing real-time life-saving information for their communities but also telling the story to the world. Thomson Foundation trained more than 1500 journalists in recent programmes in Ukraine. How did they use learnings around mobile journalism, verification, sourcing and technology in the most difficult of circumstances? Local journalists working in Ukraine’s regional cities will share their experiences of reporting on a story that affects them personally, their own families and friends. We will explore the benefits of a regional journalists’ support network set up in Ukraine and ask how it can be copied elsewhere. Organised in association with Thomson Foundation.
14:00 – 15:00 > Auditorium San Francesco al Prato | whistleblowing
Julian Assange and Wikileaks: freedom of information on trial +info►
14:00 – 15:00 > Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani | journalism & society
We can’t solve misinformation without media literacy +info►
At long last, it’s become clear in media and technology circles that upgrading our information supply, while crucial, is not enough to solve the misinformation crisis. We also need to upgrade ourselves — on the demand side — to be more adept users of information, as consumers, sharers, and creators. And we need to do it at scale. New approaches and projects are under way in education and media, and platform companies are investing more time and money on the demand side. No one believes this will solve the problem, but there’s reason to hope it will make a genuine difference.
14:00 – 15:00 > Palazzo Sorbello | community, engagement & trust
Turning accountability into an asset: implementing RSF’s Journalism Trust Initiative +info►
Turning accountability into an asset: implementing RSF’s Journalism Trust Initiative. How it’s going and why it matters. Holding others to account is what journalism is all about. But who is holding us to account? And why does it matter? These questions are among those resulting from the phenomenon of disinformation, which adds to a perfect storm our profession is facing. Suddenly it is no longer enough to claim: ’Trust me, I am a journalist!’ Suddenly, transparency becomes key to regain and retain our audience’s trust, to make the inner workings of our craft visible and to turn this into a competitive advantage. The Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) recently launched by press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders is offering a compliance tool to operationalize this quest, backed by an official ISO-type standard. With core support provided by the European Broadcasting Union from the start, now the first case studies can be presented and learnings shared. Why did media outlets sign-up for the process in the first place? What obstacles occurred? What are the benefits and is it worth the effort? Join us for this first-hand and exclusive look behind the scenes of implementing the JTI in the daily routine of news organizations. Organised in association with Reporters Without Borders.
14:00 – 15:00 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | other topics
Murdoch: the elephant in our room +info►
What is journalism’s obligation to police our own? What do we do about the malign influence of Rupert Murdoch’s empire in the English-speaking democracies and the taint he brings our field?
14:00 – 15:00 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | constructive & solutions journalism
Healing the toxic cycle of news media and politics: constructive journalism approaches to political reporting +info►
This panel will look at the impact of a journalistic focus on politics and politicians. We will discuss how an emphasis on aggressive pundits and sensational sound bites cripples political conversation, handing the microphone only to loudest and most shocking and drowning out thoughtful analysis. Looking at three new innovative formats of political programming from Northern Europe, we explore how we can escape this toxic cycle and find new ways forward. Organised in association with Constructive Institute.
15:30 – 16:30 > Auditorium San Francesco al Prato | country/region focus
Life in exile: how migrations, war and revolution are impacting CEE media +info►
The tumultuous events of the past 2 years – war in Ukraine, a crushed revolution in Belarus, a last gasp for Russia’s independent media – have left the CEE media struggling to adapt. Audiences have been displaced, advertising markets have fallen apart… Many media have already closed while numerous others are on the brink. How can media adapt and survive amid this chaotic reality? What models can still work and what opportunities have arisen as a result? Is there a space for new media initiatives? Organised in association with The Fix.
15:30 – 16:30 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | legal protection for journalists
Defending media freedom: using the law to protect journalists at risk +info►
As threats to independent journalism continue to accelerate, with efforts to control the free flow of accurate, unbiased information around the world, the law is being weaponised to compromise journalists’ safety and censor their reporting. Free and independent media are fighting the battle of their lives, but without significant legal expertise, their defences against authoritarian or malign regimes are weak. So how can we protect journalists most at risk and bolster their ability to speak freely and fairly, without fear of retribution? Our panel of experts will explore the gaps in legal support available to journalists targeted for their truthtelling, and introduce an exciting collaboration led by the Thomson Reuters Foundation to expand the reach and impact of legal assistance available to journalists. The Legal Network for Journalists at Risk will ensure that reporters can fight censorship with specialist legal support via a global network for expert organisations. One of many TRF initiatives to strengthen the journalism profession all over the world, our goal is to ensure journalists can continue to fulfill their role in society by covering public interest stories and holding power to account. Organised in association with Thomson Reuters Foundation.
15:30 – 16:30 > Sala del Dottorato | journalist safety & well-being
Sexual violence and armed conflict: what every journalist needs to know +info►
Increasing reports are emerging of sexual violence being committed in the war in Ukraine, and it occurs during conflict of all kinds. Few journalistic challenges carry a greater weight of responsibility than interviewing the survivors. When rape is used in war, it has a devastating impact on individuals and their communities. Over the last two years, the Dart Centre for Journalism and Trauma Europe has worked with journalists and filmmakers who have worked in Iraq and Syria, the Great Lakes region of Africa, Colombia and many other situations, to develop these new reporting guidelines on covering conflict-related sexual violence. The advice contained is of use to anyone, working on the current war in Ukraine, or in other areas including paramilitary conflicts, who may find themselves documenting human rights abuses, involving torture or sexual violence. Organised in association with Dart Centre Europe.
15:30 – 16:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | collaborative journalism
Global anti-corruption consortium: how non-traditional partnerships accelerate impact +info►
Traditional journalism dictates a clear line between reporting and advocacy. At the same time, strategic alliances between those tackling corruption are essential to drive real change. Partnerships like OCCRP and Transparency International’s Global Anti-Corruption Consortium (GACC) – recognized at President Biden’s 2021 Summit for Democracy as a proven model for getting results – as well as the Anti-Corruption Data Collective (ACDC) bring together journalists, advocates, and others, turning headlines into action and maximizing impact. How does it work? Trust, the right people at the right organizations, and inventive, entrepreneurial thinking are required. Come hear about challenges, successes, plans for building on impact to date, and what it takes to team up in unconventional ways to ensure greater results from reporting. Organised in association with OCCRP.
17:00 – 18:00 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | country/region focus
Press freedom in Eastern Europe and Central Asia +info►
Although it has been 30 years since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the legacy of its reign – and the Kremlin’s continued influence – is still evident in former Eastern bloc countries. Nowhere is this truer than in media. Russia may have fallen by only one point in this year’s World Press Freedom Index, but that belies the extent to which its police brutality and legislative crackdowns on journalists have become models for aspiring authoritarians across the region. Reporters Without Borders finds that, as in Russia, governments in Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and Ukraine have “used the need to combat disinformation about COVID-19 as grounds for imposing additional curbs on press freedom.” With more than half of the region’s countries ranking near or below 150th (out of 180 countries) in the World Press Freedom Index, the situation demands greater scrutiny. What historical and current factors have contributed to this persistent problem? What can be done to support press freedom in the region? What lessons can be drawn from other post-authoritarian countries that have gone on to enjoy a vibrant media environment? Organised in association with Project Syndicate.
17:00 – 18:00 > Palazzo Sorbello | country/region focus
Is Afghan journalism dead? +info►
The Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan has been a devastating blow to Afghan journalism and the country’s wider media scene. Hundreds of news outlets have shut down. Journalists have been attacked, critical voices censored. Female journalists have been hit hardest of all, forced out of work amid wider Taliban restrictions on women’s lives. Many journalists have fled abroad or gone into hiding. What can be done? How should journalists, Afghan and foreign, media owners and journalist protection groups respond?
17:00 – 18:00 > Sala della Vaccara, Palazzo dei Priori | investigative journalism
Suisse Secrets: lifting the veil of banking secrecy +info►
Suisse Secrets: how lifting the veil of banking secrecy uncovered a threat to press freedom in one of the oldest democracies. In February 2022, a team of more than 160 journalists from 48 media outlets in 39 countries published the Suisse Secrets: an international investigation into Credit Suisse, one of the world’s wealthiest and most important banks. Internal banking data, leaked to the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, unmasked the beneficiaries of more than 100bn Swiss francs held in one of Switzerland’s best-known financial institutions. The leak points to widespread failures of due diligence by Credit Suisse, despite repeated pledges over decades to weed out dubious clients and illicit funds. Nevertheless, the investigation posed challenges – as the Swiss banking secrecy law does threaten press freedom.
17:00 – 18:00 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | journalist safety & well-being
Online violence against women journalists: a global scourge that demands urgent action +info►
Women journalists are increasingly the targets of online violence connected to orchestrated disinformation campaigns waged by states, political actors, conspiracy networks and misogynists. They have become targets of online communities weaponised to destabilise democracies and chill freedom of expression rights that support accountability journalism. They are also increasingly exposed to offline violence connected to online attacks. This panel launches the key findings of a global study of gender-based online violence against women journalists – described by the UN as ‘trailblazing’. It also draws on the experiences of four of the highest-profile and most instructive international case studies. They are Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa in the Philippines, the BBC’s Marianna Spring in the UK, Brazil’s Patricia Campos Mello, and Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub in India. In 2016, Ressa and her largely female staff at Rappler.com, came under concerted digital attack as part of an orchestrated disinformation campaign waged by the Duterte Government against journalism outlets critically reporting on extrajudicial killings. Two years later, Ayyub became the subject of a UN Special Rapporteurs intervention after she was subjected to online violence connected to the rise of right wing Hindu nationalism. The UN Special Rapporteurs intervened again in February 2022 as threats against Ayyub escalated badly in a state-linked campaign designed to chill her critical reporting. In Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro’s populist government targeted Campos Mello in a sexist campaign designed to shame her and discredit her journalism. And, as the pandemic escalated, BBC Disinformation reporter Marianna Spring came under intense fire, targeted by misogynists and conspiracy communities in brutal ways which led her to investigate the issue online attacks against women for the BBC. Ressa, Ayyub, Spring and Campos Mello participated in the UNESCO-International Center for Journalists research project led by Posetti, and three of them join her on this panel (Ressa will appear via video message) to discuss the impacts of the pernicious threat to journalists’ safety and the public’s right to know, while sharing their fightback strategies. Organised in association with International Center for Journalists.
18:30 – 19:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Priori | diversity, equity & inclusion
Accountability through a gendered lens +info►
As the media eco-system debates measures of accountability, self-regulation, ethical conduct and the connection of these measures to sustainability the issue of gender equality and inclusive newsroom and content is often missing from this debate. The panel will bring into focus where and how we need to consider issues of accountability including gender equality as a key component in the design of new sustainability matrixes. Organised in association with WAN-IFRA Women in News.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala Brugnoli, Palazzo Cesaroni | investigative journalism
20 years of ‘war on terror’ coverage +info►
Last September marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York and Washington. Just a month earlier, the United States’ withdrawal after a two-decade war in Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban appeared to bookend two decades of the U.S.-led “war on terror.” While that war is far from over, this panel explores the ways in which U.S. actions post-9/11 have changed countless lives, both abroad and at home. The panel focuses on the ways in which the media covered and in many cases contributed to the narrative of the war on terror, from the failure of journalism that helped justify the invasion of Iraq to some of the outstanding investigative reporting that has exposed this war’s true cost. Panelists Azmat Khan, Murtaza Hussain, and Spencer Ackerman, moderated by Alice Speri, will discuss how journalists covered one of the most consequential stories of our time, the stories they missed, and the blind spots in their coverage, as well as how the war on terror “came home” to the United States. Organised in association with The Intercept.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala San Francesco, Arcivescovado | journalism & society
Reinventing the Big Tech vs journalism dynamic: trust and integrity +info►
The digital convergence has upended the news media’s traditional business model while at the same time online disinformation has become an issue of global concern. What if both of these problems could be remedied through partnerships between Big Tech, big business and journalism that design for trust and integrity and creating a framework that will help sustain small and independent news outlets around the world? “Trust initiatives” are striving to build a stronger digital news ecosystem and to ensure that users have access to high-quality news within the platform-mediated information ecosystem even as Google and Facebook create their own products focused on news media. This session will examine several of these efforts to build trust in reliable news sources, and what they need to gain traction or shift course. By critically examining a range of initiatives from different perspectives – tech platform facing, consumer facing, and civic tech initiatives – we’ll hone in on what’s working with respect to projects such as the Journalism Trust Initiative, Trust in News, Project Origin, Ads for News, Trust.txt, JournalList, the Trust Project, among others. We’ll also explore how to leverage the properties of the technologies and platforms in which journalism is embedded, and how these could be integrated with Google News Initiative, Facebook News and its new “Creator” product, and other platform-designed systems to provide greater coverage and access for small and independent media. In this conversational panel we will explore the different approaches and how do they relate to trust online. What are the needs they’re addressing, and what are their implications for journalism? Are these approaches scalable? Are they relevant for non-Western media? How do more localized efforts interact with the global initiatives? Organised in association with Global Forum for Media Development.
18:30 – 19:30 > Palazzo Sorbello | community, engagement & trust
News fatigue and how to fight it +info►
Nearly two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, many news organizations are facing lower readership and less engagement. In this session, news leaders will discuss strategies to fight news fatigue, and how media can develop and grow their audiences. The panel will explore the methods that are working to deliver news across platforms in the current moment, where resources can be reinvested, and much more. Organised in association with Bloomberg.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala delle Colonne, Palazzo Graziani | other topics
Can the EU Media Freedom Act save journalism? +info►
In her State of the Union Speech EU Commission President Von Der Leyen announced that the EU intends to pass a Media Freedom Act protecting free journalism at a time of increasing pressure from populist authoritarian governments. As the Commission sets its policy on this controversial issue this panel asks: what do journalists need from EU legislation, and what is the role of the EU in protecting free media?
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala del Dottorato | AI
The human and the machine: can we rely on AI to solve the information crisis? +info►
The rise of mis and dis-information is being countered by a mix of automated technology, third-party fact-checking and human-review. But is it the blend of human and robot working? What can we do to stop false narratives and bad actors emerging earlier in the information cycle? And, what are the effects if these processes become — as many would like — completely free of human oversight? Questions for discussion could include: What are the big risks in combining humans and AI, from both sides? What tasks can AI do on their own and what will always need human intervention (training datasets, rate the potential harm of social media posts and triage reports of abusive behaviour)? What potential does greater structured data hold for combatting false narratives? Is fact-checking working to the extent that we’d like or is it a sticking plaster? Organised in association with Kinzen.
18:30 – 19:30 > Sala della Vaccara, Palazzo dei Priori | podcasting, audio, video, AR & VR
Podcasting in the Global South +info►
Creating a podcast audience in the Global South is considered one to be one of the holy grails of podcasting right now. This session will hear from people who are already doing it and ask what the challenges are, why it’s important and how they did it. In the Arab world, podcasts allow people to talk about taboo topics and become parts of a larger storytelling community. Many of the Global South countries have very rich oral storytelling cultures, which are now moving into podcasts. Together with the guests, we’ll look at how podcasts are developing across the African continent, the Arab world and Latin America. These are some of the fastest growing podcast audiences worldwide.
18:30 – 19:30 > Hotel Brufani – Sala Raffaello | collaborative journalism
The Pegasus Project: a worldwide collaboration to counter a global crime +info►
This is one of the biggest stories of 2021. The Pegasus Project coordinated by Forbidden Stories brought together 80 journalists from around the world. Together they revealed that hundreds of journalists, human rights activists, political opponents, and government officials had been targeted by a dozen of states using a spyware program called Pegasus. This historic leak, to which Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International had access, made headlines around the world last summer. Organised in association with Forbidden Stories.
21:00 – 22:30 > Sala dei Notari, Palazzo dei Priori | in conversation
Fascism in the family (screening and discussion) +info►
Italian-born journalist Barbara Serra’s award-winning documentary Fascism in the Family is a personal, historical and timely look at the role that the legacy of Fascism still plays in Italy today. Barbara’s grandfather was the fascist mayor of Carbonia, a key mining town in Sardinia which was used as a place of exile and punishment for political dissidents and prisoners of war. While tracing back her family’s involvement in the regime, Barbara also discovers a direct link between her grandfather and Germany’s Nazi leadership – a revelation made even more poignant by the fact that Barbara’s young son is half Jewish. How much does its fascist past influence Italy today? By speaking to Holocaust survivor and Senator Liliana Segre and Lega leader Matteo Salvini among others, this film examines the current anti-immigration sentiment, rising intolerance and the attacks on a free media to see if these are warnings that the country where the word Fascism was coined is at risk of repeating its history. The film is in English with Italian subtitles. The conversation will be in Italian but Barbara can answer any questions sent via Twitter in English.