The Council of Europe Committee of experts on quality journalism in the digital age (MSI-JOQ) has been established under the Committee of Ministers Steering Committee on Media and Information Society (CDMSI) for the biennium 2018-2019. The thirteen-member group is tasked with preparing standard-setting instruments (in form of Committee of Ministers recommendations or declarations) and studies for approval by the Steering Committee. More specifically, the MSI-JOQ has been tasked to prepare a Draft recommendation on promoting a favourable environment for quality journalism in the digital age and to carry out a Study on the media and information literacy in the digital…

The media environment is becoming increasingly digital, mobile and more and more people consume news directly on social media. Which innovative financing tools will make quality journalism sustainable in the future and how can we preserve a lively news environment that informs citizens and scrutinizes societal power hubs? Those were the main questions of the debate, organised yesterday (07/09/2017) by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF) in cooperation with the European Federation of journalists (EFJ). It was moderated by Caroline Margaux Haury, European Affairs Manager at the FNF. Renate Schroeder, director of the EFJ, gave opening remarks. “The evolution of the…

The year 2016-2017 has seen intense debates over fake news, algorithms and distrust towards journalists and journalism. The 2017 Digital News Report, published by the Reuters Institute for the study of journalism, contains interesting findings on some of the prevailing narratives around these issues. Social media are not doing a good job in separating fact from fiction The overall trust in news – 43% all media combined – drops significantly when it comes to social media, as only 24% thinks that social media do a good job in separating fact from fiction, compared to 40% for the news media. Only…

The future role of media is under question – new online media companies are emerging, print advertising is in decline and there is more and more talk about ‘fake-news’, which contributes to losing readers’ trust. The Greens in the European Parliament organised on Wednesday (07/06/2017) a Democratic Discourse with experts discussing the new trends in the digital news landscape and how journalists and media outlets are living up to them. “The majority of professional journalism is still funded by newspapers – 69 % of the funds for professional journalism came from newspaper companies in the UK in 2012,” pointed out…

People are more and more relying on social media for news – This is the trend highlighted in the 2016 annual report on digital news published by the Reuters Institute for the study of journalism, although traditional media outlets are still considered as valuable and trusted brands. The study also suggests that the impact on publishers’ revenues has to be addressed. The use of platforms, social networks and mobiles should be combined with sustainable business models. The growth of social media The digital news report 2016 confirms what many studies highlighted before: television news and online news are the most…