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By Tiziana Conti, Administration and Fundraising Coordinator, WACC-UK
"Hype or Hope? The impact of digital media on journalism and development” was the theme of the German “Forum Media and Development” symposium (FoME) held at the Deutsche Welle in Bonn, Germany, on 25th and 26th of October. The Symposium explored how “ digital technology” is changing production, distribution and consumption of media and its potential to contribute to the development of free and independent media in developing countries.
“There is a lot of fear and skepticism in the North, about the new digital tools,” said Justin Arenstein from the Association of Independent Publishers, Rest of the World Media. “Most journalists think that these tools are disruptive and that they are eroding the ability of journalists to do their jobs properly, whereas in the South they have been very empowering, they have created a more level playing field where journalists even in small cities can now access the same production tools and the same search tools."
Arenstein further said "digital tools have been incredibly liberating. Now, at the click of a button in an internet café, I can be part of this global conversation, which I could not be in the past.”
With the rapid development of digital technology in the South, Arenstein foresees an increase in local reporting as opposed to the domineering presence of western media. “In the past, we were mere consumers of what the global, Western, news agencies fed us, we are now starting to see southern journalists writing and reporting for their own audiences and analyzing global events. We are going to see an improvement in the quality of reporting in the South, because we now have access not just to digital tools but also to learning online for free.”
Participants at the symposium who included media experts and development practitioners, also shared their experiences on topics such as the impact of digital media on investigative journalism, data journalism and mobile reporting including Short Messages Services (SMS), new smart phones and applications for mobile reporting which are increasingly being used for media development.
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| Participants at the FoME symposium 2011 (Photo by Julia-Wegenast). See more photos here… |
Brenda Burrell, a Zimbabwean information activist and co-founder of The Kubatana Trust of Zimbabwe, explained how mobile news reporting in form of short messages (SMS) is increasingly becoming significant and launching new dynamics in the media scene.
“Information can spread quickly, but this also means that rumors and unsubstantiated reports can also move just as quickly. The new tools are changing the way people consume information, even though most people continue to return to traditional channels to get in-depth information.”
The symposium also heard how citizen journalism is changing the media landscape. Ivan Sigal, executive director of Global Voices, a non-profit online global citizens’ media initiative, said “the peer to peer information networks allow anybody to participate and build community together. Community is very important because people don't communicate in a vacuum, they communicate to others who they know, they actually care about the things they are writing about, photographing or documenting.”
And with the growing use of the Internet as a channel for political communication, activism and journalism, Sigal observed that authoritarian governments are becoming increasingly eager to control the internet, in particular to silence critical voices. “Never before has the impact of digital and social media been discussed so widely as in the context of current social movements like the political uprising in the middle east, where Internet based communication provided an outlet for voices unheard by the state controlled media systems.”
In South Africa, for example, there is a lot more resistance to government attempts to control the media according to Sarah Britten, a communication strategist who is also an author and a top contributor of Memeburn. “With social media, there is more awareness and the government is propelled to be more transparent. These tools have made a lot of big businesses and governments very uncomfortable, as we saw with the Arab uprising. Even when the Internet was switched off, people still found a way to get the message out. There is a shift of power back to the ordinary people.”
However, the new media technologies are also bringing a whole new set of policy questions and regulatory questions into the space of communication rights, explained Ivan Sigal. “Traditional communication rights are about broadcast licensing, frequency costs and about who gets a voice and a network. However, with the new media, there is a different set of policy questions about common carriers, privacy and security issues, cost structure for access, phones and internet as well as political issues and issues of equality and equity."
Justin Arenstein asserted that new technologies have brought the hope that most marginalized people now find new channels to express themselves. “Minorities and the voiceless can now organize themselves, via Facebook or via text messaging. Mobile communication suddenly allows them to reach out to communities that are suffering the same kind of injustices and they can share experiences and mobilise themselves to fight for a common cause.”
“We are seeing in countries such as Malawi and Uganda, people mobilizing themselves through social media and organizing street protests. These countries don’t have a tradition of public protests, and yet ordinary citizens are now standing up against what they perceive to be political exploitation or government abuse,” said Arenstein.
At the symposium closing session, participants explored the future of technology and media in development. Infrastructure and lack of internet connectivity were highlighted as key challenges in developing countries. However it was also noted that with the mobile phones revolution and development taking place, the media development scene is improving significantly.
However, Britten cautioned that there’s need for more awareness and education about responsible use of social media. “media literacy is necessary to avoid xenophobia, genocide and other upheavals incited through new media tools," she said. "The question we should address is How new media technologies contribute to development."
For more information about the “Forum Media Development”, please visit:
http://training.dw-world.de/ausbildung/blogs/fome2011/
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