More than 230 journalists from throughout Argentina gathered in Buenos Aires Nov. 20-21, 2009, for the Argentine Journalism Forum’s (FOPEA) Fourth National and International Congress. Aproximately 50 speakers gave presentations about the social responsibility of media and journalism.
The Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas was a co-sponsor of the event and has worked with FOPEA since its creation.
In contrast to FOPEA's three previous congresses, where journalists gave most of the presentations, the fourth congress shared the podium with political, social, cultural and economic actors. Those speakers gave their opinions about journalistic coverage in areas such as politics, the economy, social movements, the environment, education, domestic violence, human rights, health policy, corruption, justice, and religion. They also addressed the social responsibility of media companies.
Three subsequent plenary sessions addressed those criticisms and developed proposals for improving journalistic coverage of those areas.
The event also brought together accomplished figures in international journalism. The first lecture was given by Bill Kovach, a senior advisor to the Project for Excellence in Journalism in the United States. Addressing the crisis in the business model of traditional journalism, Kovach said the media industry has two immediate challenges. The first, he said, is to construct a wall to prevent Google from giving wide, free distribution to information produced by individual newspapers. The second, he said, is to develop a system of micropayments, so Internet users can see some information for free but can pay to access specialized, high-quality information and/or archives.
Kovach said journalists should become modern “cartographers.” They should guide Internet audiences to web sites containing credible information, and they should learn to report the news in collaboration with audiences, he said.
Another panel showcased several experiences from Latin America and Europe. The director of the Colombian TV program Contravía, Hollman Morris, described his work as an investigative reporter and the confrontations he has had with the government of President Álvaro Uribe. Vicente Vallés of Spanish Television (TVE) spoke about challenges facing TV journalists. Andrés Colman of the Paraguayan Journalists Forum (FOPEP) described the relationship between journalism and power in his country. Angelina Nunes of the Brazilian Association for Investigative Journalism (Abraji) explained how her organization is working to improve journalism in Brazil. Andrea Vial of Chile’s Alberto Hurtado University School of Journalism presented results of a study about Santiago journalists’ perception of the profession.
A report containing the conclusions of the congress will be distributed by FOPEA in the coming weeks.
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