Global: MDLF chairs WAN press freedom roundtable

by Peter Whitehead / 3rd December, 2009

MDLF Managing Director Sasa Vucinic chaired the annual press freedom roundtable at the WAN-IFRA 62nd World Newspaper Congress in Hyderabad on 30 November. Under the title, Free Press: What Good Is a Mission Without a Business?, the panel discussed how news organizations can develop a model that is both profitable and in keeping with the mission of a free press.

Panellists included several MDLF clients, including Irina Samokhina of Krestyanin in Russia, Trevor Ncube of South Africa's Mail & Guardian and Jose Ruben Zamora of El Periodico in Guatemala. The session was well received, with attendance up on previous years.

Among the highlights:

"The name of the game involves being very brave ... We have to be bold, we want to leave for future generations countries where the truth is bold," Jose Ruben Zamora

"It's important to have a private media that has a mission in its heart and business in its mind," Trevor Ncube

"State newspapers use taxpayers money which means that we somehow compete with ourselves ... The only way to compete with these newspapers is to use content," Irina Samokhina (pictured - photo by Shakia Harris)

Read more in the Kashmir Observer and The Hindu online.

Comments:

Dear Mr Singhi, Thank you for your comments. I am pleased that you enjoyed the session and that you found some of the speakers inspirational. They have incredible, inspiring stories to tell and, with luck, their news outlets will continue to inform their audiences for many years to come -- particularly if they maintain and develop the commercial side of their news businesses, as they discussed. Regards, Peter Whitehead MDLF Director of Communications

by peter.whitehead@mdlf.org / 7th December, 2009

I participated as audience in the roundtable. It was very well organized. The elaboration of stories and personal experinces by the panelists was very impactful. Nazim Sethi, Irina and Jose Ruben Zamora were very expensive and their passion for their job was very inspiring. Sasa Vucinic conducted the show very deftly. Rajiv Singhi.

by rajiv@webdunia.net / 4th December, 2009

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From 1996 to 31 March 2010, MDLF has provided $97.5 million in affordable financing, including:

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