Tomorrow’s NEWS: Models for an everyone-is-media world

Moderator: Paula Ellis, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

Speakers: William Drayton, CEO, Ashoka; Gregor Hackmack, Co-Founder, Parliamentwatch, NGO; Sasa Vucinic, Managing Director, Media Development Loan Fund.

We are witnessing the destruction of the old media order – and the noisy, thrilling invention of something new. Tectonic shifts in technology and human behaviour have changed forever the way we create, deliver and consume information. The result: a host of emerging models from around the globe that thrive on connection and community, promising previously unimagined opportunities to engage people as active, change-making citizens.

The session began with Paula introducing to the audience new and innovative media systems in the new order. William Drayton, speaking on the subject said that in this new order everyone is a contributor. Social Entrepreneurs had a more important role to play in a world where network effect has a scaling effect. Also, a lot of interpersonal relations are based on evolved human judgments. The challenge however is how the new media can be used to do the same. He said what was disconcerting was that the new society was moving away from openly discussing ethics. In a rapidly changing world where everyone is a changemaker it is incumbent that journalism helps frame the issues since it cannot be a solution provider.

Gregor has created an impartial online platform enabling direct, public dialogue between individual citizens, their elected representatives, and journalists--holding politicians accountable, giving citizens easy access to political information, and enriching media coverage. Through his two online gateways, Parliament Watch and Candidate Watch, Gregor casts light on the often hidden business of parliamentary politics by giving citizens opportunity to track the actions of politicians over time, giving access to speeches, contributions to parliamentary debates, and voting records—and creates forums for unaccustomed interaction between politicians and constituents. In sharing with the audience examples of the impact active citizenry has had in Germany, he said ‘code of conduct’ was an evolving process. Curators and Constitutional Judges on their committees have played a pivotal role in the moderation process and defining the code of conduct.

Susa Vucinic, in his ‘previous life’ as a journalist realized that there was a need for a world organization that could provide financial support to media companies. This was the thought behind the birth of Media Development Loan Fund. He introduced to the audience new terminology to our language in ‘Digital-native’ and ‘Digital-immigrant’ explaining today’s digital divide.

In summary,

• Traditional press has a structural bias against future. They are pressed for time and hence tend to ignore alternatives and also prefer not to be seen as advocating. That is one of the reasons they are losing out. If you look at blogs etc that restraint is withering away.
• The panel punctuated that information does not change behaviour. Our relations to that information changes behaviour.
• Trust, everyone agreed was a key issue. Unfortunately things have shifted in such a way that things need to be ‘true-enough’, ‘convincing-enough’ to sell. It has opened up a whole area for manipulation.

This session examined the levers of power in a world where everyone can be an editor – and demonstrate why. Far from mourning the demise of journalism, there’s a reason to celebrate a new generation.

A few years ago I read an interview of Bill Drayton in The Times of India. It resonated with my calling to be a social entrepreneur. To be able to speak to him today and share this was in itself a fulfilling experience.

“Everyone has the skills and confidence to be a changemaker. ”- Bill Drayton.