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Focus on media: Al-Sharq Youth Forum 2017

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As the world moves toward unprecedented technological advancement, a new discourse is arising with the role of technology encroaching into the culture of media, setting off trends that will soon set the standard in newsrooms around the world. As a key discussion at the fourth annual Al-Sharq Youth Forum, which was this week hosted in Istanbul, Turkey, the role of technology in the world of media is set forth as a reality that has impacted the geo-political landscape of the world and has called to the fore the role and responsibility of media houses and journalists who control the narrative of global events.

Addressing some 700 delegates at the Hilton Istanbul Bosporus Conference Centre, former managing director of Al Jazeera English, Al Annesty spoke on the future of media. He explains that good journalism is being hijacked by those who have their own agenda – “who massage the truth in pursuit of political gain.”

He adds that readers, the watchers and listeners are none the wiser, therefore, asserting the fact that “people” are a central part of the solution to false and misguiding news.

“The key is to let people know if they are a victim of untruth.”

Since most journalists exist to represent the people they cover and the people they inform, Annesty says fake news narratives must not result in “defensive” reactions from media houses and journalists. Instead, he encourages journalists to use fake news as a means to improve reporting standards and, therefore, requires media to be impartial.

Annesty proposes five steps:

  1. Journalists need to take responsibility for everything they report.

“ Since Media is no ones mouth peace, journalists need to remain impartial.”

Using the example of the overt use of the narrative “illegal immigrant or migrant”, he says these labels are political narratives with political agendas and media houses should not support these narratives.

  1. Media should not follow the news agendas of the day, but should instead focus on real stories that matter.

He says that it is not just what the media reports on that matters, but what they do not report on that matters. Therefore, calling attention to the power of silence.

  1. The correction does not get the same weight as the story; where mistakes are seen as a by-product of a busy day.

Al Annesty says that the consumer does not care who breaks the story first, but instead is seeking accurate information.

  1. Journalists must be more determined and needs to do the job with resolve.
  2. Finally, he says journalists need to clarify the line between opinion and fact.

“There is no place for opinion in reporting.”

Meanwhile, in a panel discussion, AJ+ presenter Dena Takruri, AJ+ producer Shadi Rahimi and filmmaker, Muhammad Bayazid explained that journalists are no longer just journalists. Today, journalists are also content producers, where they are expected to share their stories and content themselves in order for it to be seen.

Also included in the discussion was the world of citizen journalism, where citizens are breaking news before journalists do, a mechanism that the panel asserts has proven to be powerful.

With regards to the future of media and technology, Rahimi says media houses are moving toward multimedia mechanisms of distributing their content in a bid to remain relevant.

Rahimi says this trend has led to the shedding of print staff and increasingly employers are employing one person to do the job of multiple specialists; to produce the story, tell the story and man the camera.

In terms of Muslim media, the panel says that for any Muslim youth who wishes to join media, this is the perfect time since consumers are seeking the Muslim voice.

Media and the human spirit

Concerning media and the human spirit, the executive director of global brand and communications of the Al Jazeera media network, Abdullah Najjar says that while the world has advanced in technology, critical human issues remain, “where we see that conflict and war continues to ravage countries.”

Commenting on the purported power that rests with the youth, he asserts that the youth have the methods available to them that enable them to better solve political, economic and geopolitical concerns of the world, which includes access to media and technology.

Being an Al-Jazeera representative at the conference, Najjar spoke to the issues that face reporters and media houses. He says that Al Jazeera worked to give the voiceless a voice, but it came at a price – the death of journalists in the field.

He further spoke to the realities that journalists have to face when covering stories, saying “he had not thought what it meant to stand in an open field with bullets and bombs falling around him.”

“All this for trying to bring the truth to the world,” he continued.

So speaking to the values of Al-Jazeera, Najjar says he believes that media and technology can push humanity forward.

“Nothing good comes easy…so please remember human dignity; it can be attacked, but it cannot be destroyed.”

VOC 91.3fm


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