RSJ News
RSJ faculty presents paper at international journalism conference
09-10-2009
RSJ's Donica Mensing presents at the Future of Journalism conference in Cardiff, Wales.
Scholars from more than 40 different countries are discussing the future of journalism at a two-day conference held in Cardiff, Wales this week.
RSJ faculty member Donica Mensing is one of more than 100 presenters at the Future of Journalism conference. She will present a paper on "Rethinking journalism education" based on some of the work of the RSJ graduate program in interactive environmental journalism.
The opening session featured two keynote speakers: James Curran, Director of the Goldsmith’s Media Research Centre in London and Bettina Peters, Director of the Global Forum for Media Development.
Curran described the reactions of four different groups to the current upheaval in journalism: media managers, who believe that they will be able to successfully manage their way through the changes; liberal educators who believe the changes represent a wonderful new world; radical activists who are happy to see news organizations in trouble; and journalists who are deeply worried about their own futures and the impact that the loss of journalism will have on society.
Curran said all four groups are off the mark. He was reluctant to predict the future, but he did argue that for journalism to survive, new funding models need to be developed that would combine commercial as well as public sector funding. These hybrid models will be necessary for public interest journalism to exist and flourish in the future.
Bettina Peters described a relatively new area of study called media development. It is a movement that examines the entire media system within a country or community with the goal of insuring access to quality journalism. She directs a network of 500 media assistance organizations from around the globe that provide training and support for improving media systems, particularly in developing countries.
After the keynote talks, the rest of the program is devoted to 30 separate panels on various topics related to the future of journalism. A schedule for the conference can be downloaded here.
Journalism professor and veteran BBC journalist Alfred Hermida is both blogging and Twittering the conference. You can find his work on his site Reportr.net. More information about the conference can be found on the main conference Web site for Cardiff University.
