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Media leaders from Senegal
to Serbia, Colombia to Ukraine,
gathered in Antigua, Guatemala, in late October to take
part in MDLF’s Media Forum 2007. Co-hosted with Guatemala’s leading investigative
daily, elPeriodico,
100 clients and other participants from more than 20 countries met to discuss
their solutions to some of the most pressing needs of media in emerging
democracies.
From building brands to building friendships – via investigative
journalism
The main theme of Media Forum 2007 was “technology is changing media”: how
developments in new – and old – technology are changing how people access news,
how they interact with media companies and how media businesses operate.
Other subjects on the agenda included citizen journalism, how to generate
advertising and revenue growth by leveraging brands, and what lessons can be
learned from companies that have experienced a change in ownership. But the
most dramatic session was one on investigative reporting, in which four clients
gave striking presentations on recent investigations carried out by their
companies.
Juan Luis Font from elPeriodico described a series of articles by the
newspaper’s investigative team into state-ordered killings during a raid by
security forces on a prison, introducing participants to the violence many
Guatemalans – and local journalists – live with on a daily basis.
Boris Kirshin from Chelyabinskyi Rabochii explained how his
paper’s exposure of the deaths of young soldiers became a worldwide story,
while K. Kabilan outlined Malaysiakini.com’s exposure of, among other things, modern-day
slavery in Malaysia. Finally Veran Matic told how B92’s investigation into the killing of civilians by Serb
nationalists and its re-enactment in a TV documentary led to the arrest of the
perpetrators for war crimes.
Watch a short video on the B92 investigation here.
In another section of the programme, Santoso, director of Indonesia's radio news agency KBR68H, described how his company is helping set up the first radio stations in remote Papua, in the extreme east of the country.
Watch a short video on launching the Papua stations here.
As with previous events, an intense working schedule was
supported by an opportunity for participants to network informally and build
friendships with colleagues facing similar challenges in other parts of the
world – an important goal of the meeting.
The Media Forum is held every two years and is based on MDLF's belief that
media companies in emerging democracies are the best source of advice for one
another.
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