Shusha Global Media Forum event, “New Media in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution”, July 2023
In July 2023, Oliver and Jordan participated in the Shusha Global Media Forum’s “New Media in the Era of the 4th Industrial Revolution” conference in Shusha, Azerbaijan. Oliver spoke on a panel exploring the accelerating effects of new digital communication and information technologies on the dissemination of information into global society, and the implications of this development for traditional media.
Oliver speaks on the panel
The conference also covered the importance of media literacy as a means of digesting high levels of information dissemination and also in combatting the spread and influence of false or misleading information. These subjects are of crucial importance in the field of conflict resolution, as new media play a strong role in influencing people’s perceptions of one another, and so access to reliable information prevents the deepening of prejudices that can stem from misleading information.
The key talking points from Oliver’s participation in a panel discussion titled ‘The Future of the Media: the Next Steps for Traditional Media with a Focus on Digital Transformation’ were as follows:
If we want to look forward, it is wise in my opinion to begin by taking a backward look.
John Reith, the British broadcasting executive, who in the 1920’s, established the tradition of independent public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, set three goals for the industry – inform, educate, entertain - which reflect the given wisdom and value of the time. Reith’s goals became the global norm for all independent public service broadcasting. In practice this meant to merit air time required accuracy in reporting and presenting. Broadcasting was tightly controlled environment that expected the highest standards of those involved.
It was the emergence of pirate radio, especially in the 1960’s, that provided the stimulus for local independent radio to be given the go-ahead. Local radio became in effect the Twitter of its day. It provided an opportunity, limited as it was, for communities and individuals to be heard; it became a voice that could not be ignored. It held local and national politicians to account. It remained, however, tightly controlled with limited hours of broadcasting. Accuracy in reporting, therefore, remained an essential requirement to secure airtime.
June 1st 1980 marked a paradigm shift in global broadcasting when CNN, the world’s first 24-hour television news network, made its debut. 7/24 soon became the norm in broadcasting. Filling airtime became the priority, the pursuit of ratings became a key motive in determining what should or should not be broadcast. The victim of this change was accuracy. Meeting deadlines risked overlooking the importance of checking the facts. The pursuit of higher ratings and the requirement to fill airtime 7/24 risked editors losing sight of the high ideals that governed and inspired generations of broadcasters over the past one hundred years. Rather than liberate viewers and listeners with verifiable facts it has become all too easy to entrap them, albeit unintentionally, in a cloud of uncertainty and to distract them with an overdose of reality TV – the opium of today..
If we wind forward we see the rapid expansion of social media overshadowed any sense of editorial control or sense of accountability. Anonymity provides a platform for fake news and the spread of misinformation and racial hatred. The mobile phone is a tool in the hands of autocrats, psychopaths and sociopaths. But social media equally offers a platform that has the potential to inform, to educate and to entertain as John Reith had envisaged hundred years previously. The media, both terrestrial and digital, remains a powerful tool to challenge manipulation of facts and to affect real change at the local, national and global level. The challenge we face as broadcasters is to work tirelessly, whatever our capacity, to ensure that the high ideals set by Reith remain in focus.
Additional points that were raised for further discussion included:
Decreased public attention span and the increased reliance on mobile phones, resulting in the need for constant provision of easily-digestible bite-sized information.
The importance of maintaining accuracy in reporting despite the new necessity of quick turnarounds of news coverage.
The difficulties of ensuring sufficient engagement between journalists and their audiences on social media.
The self-censorship and obstacles for journalists that ‘cancel culture’ has produced.
The impact of ‘hashtag wars’ on reporters and presenters.
The need for the teaching of digital literacy.
The importance of mental health for journalists in war zones.
The increased anti-media atmosphere, and its impact on journalists.