Business
China: Media 'should not be left in the hands of a few', agency chief says
Beijing, 9 October (AKI ) - The head of one of Italy's leading media groups, Adnkronos-GMC Group said on Friday that information should be widespread, ethical, and not left in the hands of a few giants.
"New technologies and the nature of the global market help our society grow but they are also dangerous. First of all, they encourage oversized news agencies, reduce the sources of pluralism, leaving global communication in the hands of a few giants, and limiting the freedom to inform and to be informed," said Giuseppe Marra, president of Italy's Adnkronos Group in a speech given at the World Media Summit taking place in the Chinese capital Beijing.
The three-day event, being held under the theme of "Cooperation, Action, Win-Win and Development", has attracted representatives from more than 170 media organisations worldwide, including 130 from overseas.
Marra also said the public must be made aware that ethics are important in the age of new media and that oversized news outlets reduce pluralism and freedom of information.
"This menace could be tolerated if journalists, editors and that protean giant called public opinion were properly made aware of the problem in a sort of consciousness-raising exercise.
It is our common hope that editors and journalists who understand the potential of new technology do not make the opposite mistake by emphasising the technological data and miss out on newsworthiness and ethics."
As an editor and a journalist I deeply believe that if we defend the pluralism of media sources, the freedom to inform and be informed will represent a barricade for democratic systems," said Marra.
He gave as an example the 11 September, 2001 terror attacks and made a comparison with Japan's attack against Pearl Harbor, in the US state of Hawaii in 1941.
He told the audience how people only found out about the attack at Pearl Harbor "after many hours, even days". This contrasted with the 11 September attacks, when people were watching the incident in real time.
"This event (11 September, 2001) should urge us to reflect on breaking news, because it raises a series of questions such as: was the news presented by television, radio and newspapers reliable?" said Marra.
"After almost seven years and many breakthroughs about the event, the US Congress and public opinion report facts and figures completely different to those reported at the time."
Marra said he placed implicit trust in members of the public to make informed choices in the kind of news media they want to use in an era when we can speed up the rate of information without sacrificing the value and quality of editorial content.
"But to allow them (the public) to make the right choice it is necessary to teach and inform children while they are still at school. They have to learn to properly weigh news and images," he concluded.
"New technologies and the nature of the global market help our society grow but they are also dangerous. First of all, they encourage oversized news agencies, reduce the sources of pluralism, leaving global communication in the hands of a few giants, and limiting the freedom to inform and to be informed," said Giuseppe Marra, president of Italy's Adnkronos Group in a speech given at the World Media Summit taking place in the Chinese capital Beijing.
The three-day event, being held under the theme of "Cooperation, Action, Win-Win and Development", has attracted representatives from more than 170 media organisations worldwide, including 130 from overseas.
Marra also said the public must be made aware that ethics are important in the age of new media and that oversized news outlets reduce pluralism and freedom of information.
"This menace could be tolerated if journalists, editors and that protean giant called public opinion were properly made aware of the problem in a sort of consciousness-raising exercise.
It is our common hope that editors and journalists who understand the potential of new technology do not make the opposite mistake by emphasising the technological data and miss out on newsworthiness and ethics."
As an editor and a journalist I deeply believe that if we defend the pluralism of media sources, the freedom to inform and be informed will represent a barricade for democratic systems," said Marra.
He gave as an example the 11 September, 2001 terror attacks and made a comparison with Japan's attack against Pearl Harbor, in the US state of Hawaii in 1941.
He told the audience how people only found out about the attack at Pearl Harbor "after many hours, even days". This contrasted with the 11 September attacks, when people were watching the incident in real time.
"This event (11 September, 2001) should urge us to reflect on breaking news, because it raises a series of questions such as: was the news presented by television, radio and newspapers reliable?" said Marra.
"After almost seven years and many breakthroughs about the event, the US Congress and public opinion report facts and figures completely different to those reported at the time."
Marra said he placed implicit trust in members of the public to make informed choices in the kind of news media they want to use in an era when we can speed up the rate of information without sacrificing the value and quality of editorial content.
"But to allow them (the public) to make the right choice it is necessary to teach and inform children while they are still at school. They have to learn to properly weigh news and images," he concluded.
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