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News Xchange 2008
as of 16 July 2008 |
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The Conference byword is "for Broadcasters, by Broadcasters" and I hope that my twenty five years of working in international television news will serve in good stead as I prepare the programme for Valencia.
Whilst most news coverage deals with the unexpected, this year there are two major scheduled events upon which we will be focussing - the American Election and Beijing Olympics - two Super Powers simultaneously under the media microscope. Also on the agenda, the turbulent world financial markets and how we cover them; a look at the growing trend towards celebrity and entertainment stories in our news bulletins; we ask whether the alleged "trivialisation" of the news agenda is leading to a decline in investigative journalism and also question how we convince an audience of the global food crisis whilst we all still have food on our tables?
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Is The World Starving?
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Images of food riots and hunger have led politicians to admit publicly that a crisis exists and the need to find a global strategy to tackle the surge in food prices is crucial. The danger for broadcasters in presenting the issue is that we oversimplify the story and its myriad, complicated issues. President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, addressing the World Food Summit in Rome, said that the crisis has been brought about by the growing demand for fuel, the failure to act in time on climate change, problems of distribution, the negative impact of an open global economy and the ravages of terrorism.
How do we explain why the world is hungry? How do we present the issues in all of their complexity without confusing viewers or, worse, turning them off completely? And, finally, how do we show our viewers that unless more help is given to the world's poorest nations the "silent tsunami" could plunge 100 million people into hunger and poverty?
Session Sponsored by The European Commission
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Undercover - The Risks And Rewards Of Investigative Journalism:
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Reporting terror, exposing tales of injustice and political corruption, human trafficking, paedophilia and white collar crime - all very worthy, but where do these stories sit in today's news agenda where both time and budgets are tight? The demands of 24 hour television news programming have changed the rules, but has investigative journalism been left behind and become the domain of the print world, freelancers and citizen journalists?
We look at the difficulties of getting investigative journalism to air, new technology which makes undercover filming easier, the risks involved and the role of the freelance, government agencies and pressure groups in bringing those stories to prominence.
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What Paris, Britney And Lindsay Did Next - And Who Cares Anyway?
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Last year's NewsXchange session on the Top News Stories was a revelation to many delegates. Few were surprised that the war in Iraq had the number one spot, but Harry Potter at number seven, with Madonna's adoption and Paris Hilton's jail term close behind, were concrete evidence - if ever we needed it - of the prominence of celebrity and entertainment stories in our daily news diet.
This year we will examine the cult of Celebrity and Entertainment News and ask how we cover these stories without falling victim or pandering to the world of spin, hype and PR.
Session Sponsored by The Monte Carlo TV Festival
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"Yes We Can" - The Race To The White House:
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Twelve months ago, John McCain's campaign was foundering, with bad poll ratings and negative press coverage. Today he is the new "come-back kid" and the Republican Party's nominee. Barack Obama has seen off Hillary Clinton and transformed the way political campaigns are run by harnessing the power of the internet. As we move into the final months of the race, John McCain finds himself up against a youthful "rock star" candidate whose campaign is much better funded and organised than his.
Has there been a seismic shift in the way elections are fought by the candidates and covered by the media? We plan a session which looks at the role of the media in shaping the campaign; how broadcasters and candidates alike are trying to court the young; the view from the campaign trail and the way in which the US networks use latest technology and gadgets to keep viewers informed. Plus we examine American foreign policy in a post-Bush White House.
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China Through The Looking Glass:
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China has been planning carefully to prevent inharmonious elements from spoiling its 2008 Olympic Games, but despite efforts to quell worldwide criticism of its human rights record, the Government cracked down on dissidents and censored international media coverage of the unrest in Tibet. Now they warn of "anti China" forces planning to disrupt and sabotage the Games, further heightening security concerns. The two week event is expected to attract half a million foreign visitors and vast international scrutiny.
The world's eyes turn to Beijing this summer - but how much will the 20,000 plus accredited media be allowed to see? Having anticipated and analysed the issues facing China's Olympic bid in the past two NewsXchanges, we revisit the debate and see if we got it right or, maybe, where we got it wrong.
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Has Boom Really Turned To Bust?
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Headlines this year have been dominated by crises in the world markets with predictions of a global financial and economic meltdown and recession. But what does that mean to the ordinary person? We evaluate business coverage, where viewers may be influenced not only by the content of the news stories, but also by the way broadcasters report the workings of the business world.
We look at how we make business and economic stories accessible and meaningful to our audience and explore the responsibility the media has in influencing consumer sentiment about the economy.
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By popular demand, we will also be revisiting the "Year in Coverage" to see the Top Fifteen most reported TV News stories.
My thanks to the Editorial Board and all of you who have offered to contribute and help shape this year's agenda. I welcome any suggestions or contributions you might have for making the conference a rich and varied experience for us all. Working with me will be Helen Armitage, formerly of ZDF and ITN and we look forward to joining Amy, Colin and the rest of the team to make NewsXchange 2008 the news broadcaster's conference of the year. Please check back regularly as we update and add more sessions. We very much hope to see you in Valencia in November!
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