The International Press Institute is holding a World Congress in Vienna and Bratislava on September 11-14, 2010. The title of their congress is "Thinking the Unthinkable: Are We Losing the News?" It appears to be yet another hand-wringing event where journalists talk to journalists about journalism.
Here is one session I found especially interesting: Special Presentation: "IPI Report on a News Future and the Future of the Journalism Profession" Presentation of a special report on the future of the news industry and the impact of emerging new media and technologies on the journalism profession itself. Moderator: Michael Lang, Editor-in-Chief, APA – Austria Press Agency, Vienna.http://www.ipiworldcongress.com/home/
How many of these events are journalists, journalism professors and others with a vested interest in the legacy media going to hold? There seems to be a new one every week or so – usually held in a lovely place where the hotels are grand and the ambiance is exquisite.
When are journalists going to stop talking to journalist about the future of journalism? When is someone going to DO SOMETHING about the situation? Whining and bellyaching about the demise of their profession won’t slow its demise.
My suggestion is that they all take a few minutes and go to the Society of Professional Journalists website and re-read their own code of ethics, then ask themselves how good they are doing at abiding by them.
The answer to their problem will be found there – not at Vienna, Bratislava or any other exotic venue to convene yet another naval-gazing, self-loathing, blame-placing conference, congress or symposium that achieves nothing.
Read all about the IPI World Congress: http://www.ipiworldcongress.com
Dr. Ron Ross is the co-author of "Handbook for Citizen Journalists" and the co-founder of the National Association of Citizen Journalists.
Thomas L. Blair is a sociologist and political blogger on the Chronicleworld 'for creative renewal in Black Britain and Afro-Europe'. His work is honoured in the British Library's archive of "social, historic and culturally significant web-based material from the UK domain". He won top prize in the blogging competition on The-Latest.
Sumantra Maitra is a freelance journalist from Mumbai, India. He is a correspondent for All Sports magazine, and a foreign affairs blogger for the Washington Examiner. He has written articles for news website Merinews.com and other regional publications. Sumantra runs a blog at DailyWorldWatch.wordpress.com. He provided exclusive eyewitness reports for The-Latest on the Mumbai bombings of 2008.
Brian Usher is photography consultant for The-Latest.Com. He is a highly experienced editorial and commercial photographer whose work has been published throughout the world, appearing in many well known magazines and newspapers. Brian has featured in several books and has been a writer for the Royal Photographic Society magazine.
Heidi Kingstone has spent time in Afghanistan reporting for a number of publications. Her work has appeared in the Financial Times, The Spectator, The Sunday Times and other international journals. She has also reported from places like Iraq, Rwanda, Lebanon, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Kenya. Heidi is The-Latest's Editor at large.
latest comments