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NX 2008, 20-21 November, Valencia, Spain
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News Xchange 2008 took place in Valencia, Spain on 20/21 November. It was once again an excellent event, with over 400 delegates from more than 50 countries, proving that NX is the must-attend event of the year for the industry's key decision makers.
The conference opened with a probing look at China as it basks in its Olympic afterglow. In a session moderated by CNN's John Vause (correspondent in Beijing), we looked at some of the stories behind the success of the Beijing Olympics. Specifically, we considered how the media did its job reporting the stories from Beijing. We then looked at the risks and rewards of investigative journalism in a session moderated by ZDF's Stephan Hallmann. We looked at the difficulties broadcasters and filmmakers face in getting investigative journalism to air: the risks involvd and the role of the freelancers, the government agencies and pressure groups in bringing these stories to prominence.
Just before lunch, we turned to consider Crescent Coverage: the challenge of reporting Islam. Moderator Shereen el Feki of the Kamal Adham Center for Journalism in Cairo led a distinguished group of panelists in a sometimes contentious and always challenging discussion of the critical issues facing broadcasters as we cover events in the Muslim world. Following this, we had a presentation of the prestigious Mo Amin Award, sponsored by Reuters, and then turned our attention to Hype, Hope and Headaches: making and selling digital news, a spirited session moderated by the BBC's Robert Freeman.
Our last session of the first day addressed entertainment news: what Madonna, Paris and Britney did next and who cares anyway? In an extremely lively session, ITV's Alastair Stewart led us in an examination of morals, conscience, scruples and viewer fascination with celebrity.
On our second day, we began with a fascinating session on the global food crisis and the media's role/responsibility in reporting on the complicated stories that surround this issue. This session was moderated by Sami Zeidan of Al Jazeera English. Immediately after that we turned our attention to the global financial crisis and explored the responsibility the media has in influencing consumer sentiment about the economy. We also looked at how we make business and economic stories accessible and meaningful to our audience without causing panic. This session was moderated by Steve Sedgwick of CNBC.
The BBC produced an excellent session on "Hail to the Chief: The Electrifying Race to the White House". Moderator Matt Frei (BBC) led a fascinating discussion with expert panelists on the Obama win, the role of citizen journalists and the outlook for the future in terms of access to the President.
News Xchange was very fortunate to have Luis Fernandez, President of RTVE, Spain's public service broadcaster, to deliver a keynote afternoon presentation on the challenge of transforming a public service broadcaster in today's competitive audiovisual environment. The presentation was very relevant and interesting, and there were a considerable number of questions from the audience.
We had a short presentation from Tina Carr, Director of "The Rory Peck Trust" on some of the excellent work that organisation is doing to help freelancers and their families. Finally, News Xchange was delighted to bring back Jean-Francois Dumas of Influence Communications to once again present the year's top stories. There were quite a few surprises and a great deal of audience participation. It was clear that French President Nicolas Sarkozy clearly the world media's attention in 2008!
During the event, there were also a number of great opportunities for social networking, including a cocktail reception sponsored by Eurovision and host broadcaster RTVV. On the opening night, there was a formal dinner at the stunning Feria Valencia and, on the Thursday night, a CNN delegate dinner. CBS News and Bloomberg Television each sponsored cocktail parties, as well.
When our conference ended, it was clear that NX '08 gave media professionals from all corners of the globe a wonderful opportunity to exchange ideas, share experiences and challenge assumptions.
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About News Xchange
The News Xchange has been created to provide broadcast news organizations around the world with a first-class not-for-profit conference that is both affordable and of relevance to broadcasters around the world.
Underwritten by Eurovision, the conference has received the support of the 70 members of the EBU's Eurovision News Exchange and the 29 members of European News Exchange (ENEX), the co-operative of commercial broadcasters. In addition, we are supported by the major international broadcast news agencies and networks.
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Super Premium Sponsors:
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Premium Sponsors:
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Friends of NX Sponsors:
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