By Signis News
Oct 25 2021
“Journalism in a Fragmented World” – what does it mean?
This world has never been as disrupted, uncertain, complex and ambiguous as it is today. It’s got to the point where the people who write about it – Journalists – are finding it harder and harder to make sense of what they see happening around them. And it’s not going to get easier anytime soon. Journalism today has never been more challenging, and Catholic and like-minded journalists, particularly in secular media, find themselves doubly challenged, both professionally and from their personal perspectives.
“Journalism in a Fragmented World” will see more than 20 journalists participating in the SIGNIS Asia Journalism Desk’s (SAJD) first-ever Virtual Webinar for two hours, once a week, from October 26th to December 7th 2021. Together with 16 subject matter experts, they will discuss, analyse and present their thoughts on a range of issues which affect them on five sub-themes: Media as a Catalyst for Change; Big Data & Storytelling; Citizen Journalism; Ethics of Humanitarian Reporting; and the Global Village Newsroom.
A stellar panel of media industry practitioners, academicians and communicators from non-profit international agencies from nine countries will be sharing a wealth of knowledge and experience with participants from 14 countries. The Virtual Webinar has also received expressions of interest from as far afield as Kenya and Ecuador – indicating that the subject matter addresses core issues that affect journalists regardless of where they operate.
It is also an indication of how journalism is globalising in tandem with the phenomenon of globalisation worldwide. The Virtual Webinar will therefore also spur the strengthening of solidarity among journalists while building an Asian/global network and promoting ethical professional journalism in an era of multi-channel multimedia that feeds on itself as it barrels through the lives of those who consume what it produces, and influences their lives in real, virtual and sometimes completely unprecedented ways.
When the Virtual Webinar wraps on December 7th 2021, it is hoped that participants, speakers and all those involved in the event will have a little more clarity of their roles and responsibilities as both communicators and consumers of media. It is also hoped that this clarity will move them to be the voice of the voiceless, and be at the forefront of their communities to drive physical and spiritual wellbeing, development, improvement and holistic change.
