Resetting
Media and Information Literacy in the Present Media and Information Landscape – UNESCO, Jamaica October 25, 2017
Information
and media literacy occupies a prominent position in the pecking order of media
development indicators. This is particularly so since the media, particularly
under conditions of strong self-regulation and pervasive respect for the
profession of journalism, are viewed as an absolute necessity in the empowering
of people and their communities.
There
is also an expectation that media outputs reflect a diversity of views and
interests and that civil society organisations accept responsibility, together
with the state and the traditional media themselves, in promoting a notion of
media literacy.
The
indicators are also concerned with the accessibility of news and information to
women and marginalised groups.
I
dare say, though, that since the adoption of the media indicators, almost 10
years ago, there have been transformative circumstances which while maintaining
initial aspirations, have tilted the balance of power and influence in mass
media.
For
one, the legacy or traditional mainstream media have clearly lost monopoly
status in the industry of news, information and ideas.
Now,
consider the implications of this. A previously unimaginable maze of relatively
unmediated sources, channels, platforms and media competing for eyes, ears,
hearts and souls.
Also
consider the undeniable imperative of free expression and specific emphasis on
freedom of the formal press.
In
many senses this was always the case. Technology following media and media
following technology. The steam engine eventually cranking the printing press,
mobile telephony breaching the analogue fortress. Digital media challenging a
way of viewing the world and the modalities for transporting ideas and
aspirations.
It
has in a sense marked the democratising of the very concept of democracy with
new rules and new ways of doing things. The
immediacy of broadcast media now shares important space in the world of online
content. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others are broadcasting and
narrowcasting ‘live’ and way in excess of the reaches of broadcasting towers
and cable connections.
At
the helm of these new platforms is a cadre of ordinary people telling ordinary
and often extraordinary stories – much of it ‘journalistic’ in nature, but this
is not ‘journalism’ in its purest professional sense.
It
is without doubt though that the current era has challenged both traditional
media and the journalism they produce. This has been achieved through the
undermining of previously impervious revenue streams that served as platforms
for the practice of professional journalism and through a diversification of
alternative, virtually unmediated sources and streams of data, information and
opinion.
Yet,
journalism remains steadfastly relevant and important. This is in part so
because though the aggregating of news and information is now possible by way
of app and algorithm this is incapable, on its own, of advancing knowledge to
the point of understanding or providing meaning.
The
transformational impact of the so-called ‘digital age’ on traditional,
mainstream media is undeniable. As an industry, mainstream media have virtually
lost monopoly status with respect to news, views and information that matter.
In
many ways, this follows on a longstanding relationship between mass media and
technology. Think of the value of the modern printing press to newspapers and
the innovations in wireless communication to broadcast media. Print lost to
radio what radio went on to lose, in part, to television. Yet, whatever their
respective conditions, they endure to today.
The
immediacy of broadcast media now shares important space in the world of online
content. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others are broadcasting and
narrowcasting ‘live’ and way in excess of the reaches of broadcasting towers
and cable connections. At the helm of these new platforms is a cadre of ordinary
people telling ordinary and often extraordinary stories – much of it
‘journalistic’ in nature, but this is not ‘journalism’ in its purest
professional sense.
It
might also be true that some online publications are already turning to
“automated solutions to create basic stories” and in the process dramatically
challenging the “modus operandi” of newsgathering and therefore some important
pillars of traditional media practice.
This
may eventually prove that the nature of what is broadly defined as “newsgathering”
may evolve beyond current reliance on journalists as we know them (already
there is the vexing question of so-called “citizen journalism”) and turn
attention to the mechanical features of aggregating vast streams of data and
information.
Yet,
journalism remains at the core in so far as there continue to be the
imperatives of verification, accountability and the nuanced voices of reporters
on the ground, whatever their professional or vocational manifestation.
Hard
news, verified by humans and reported by those bearing a professional
obligation to be truthful and accurate will remain an important requirement of
individual, community and social decision-making. Yes, I do contend, journalism
matters and will continue to matter in the future.
Today’s
journalists are reporting and editing, but also aggregating data and
information from a much deeper and wider pool of resources. An awareness of
Media and Information Literacy forces us to contemplate obligations on this
subject that extend beyond the responsibilities of the press and more on what
societies determine to be the true nature and extent of their own interventions
to make sense of it all.
