“Journalism in a Polarized World”
Columbia Journalism Review, New York
This conference in New York, organised with the assistance and involvement of the Columbia Journalism Review, was a great success.
The theme was Journalism in a Polarized World, and many of the sessions covered the challenges of producing independent ethical journalism in an era where media outlets are under pressure to ‘take sides’ in an increasingly polarised public debate.
Among the many highlights were:
Kyle Pope, CJR Editor, in conversation with Craig Newmark on the challenges of funding ethical journalism.
Richard Davis (CNN) and David Jordan (BBC) discussing the respective challenges of reporting on President Trump and Brexit.
Tim Pauwels exploring the fundamentals of perceived biases.
A very vigorous and engaging panel discussion, moderated by Kathy English, on whether the media is fair to conservatives. Not surprisingly, representatives from Breitbart, the Columbia Journalism School and the Poynter Institute had very different views on this hot button topic.
A wide ranging discussion of media polarization around the world, with commentary from members in India, South Africa, Israel and Argentina.
A fascinating dissection, led by Sally Begbie, of the controversy over the live-streaming of the attack on the Christchurch mosque in New Zealand.
Finally, there were a series of ‘shop talks’ on practical issues and problems confronting ombudsmen and standards editors around the world. These ‘closed shop’ discussions are always a welcome feature of ONO conferences – a chance to swap notes and share concerns about the issues that confront us all.
But of course, it wasn’t all hard work. Scroll down to see some highlights of the “networking that went on”, as well as some opportunities to share some fun too. All photos courtesy of the very talented Lars Bennike
