“Trust, verification, and engaging storytelling remain”

New media may change the way we deliver content and the need for engagement of the audience, but trust, verification, and engaging storytelling are here to stay.

‘Arirang-KF Global Media Forum: Bridging the Divide’ co-hosted by Arirang TV and the Korea Foundation on Feb. 21-24, brought media people together to discuss the future of media in the digital age. More than 30 executives representing media organizations from all over the world attended the forum.

During the 4 days, there was a CEO roundtable discussing global media’s role in national advocacy and the global common good, 4 panel sessions covering issues such as East Asian security, cultural diversity, development, and public diplomacy in context with global media, and a special session discussing global media’s future in the age of new media.

In the session on global media’s future in the age of new media, Manny Ayala (Chairman of the Board, Rappler.com) acted as the moderator and the panelists included Jimmy Jin Sik Kim (CEO, Ustream Korea, KT), Jungwook Lim (Head of Global Business, Daum Communications Corporation), Alexey Nikolov (CEO, Russia Today), Deborah H.C. Steele (Editor of Asia Pacific New Centre/NEWS, Australian Broadcasting Corporation), and Jonathan S. Williams (Head of Foreign Coverage, BBC World). In this session, the transformation of the global media in the face of new technologies, service and interactions was explored.

Special session on global media’s future in the age of new media

Jonathan S. Williams discussed the importance of engaging the audience. He compared old dictators to old news agencies in terms of their lack of communication with their audience: viewers and citizens. He also emphasized the importance of verification. Major news organizations have spent years to build their reputation, but can lose it in an instant if they fail to verify their sources. If organizations lose their accountability, they may be here today, but not tomorrow.

Alexey Nikolov commented that the media is not selling news anymore, but should be selling trust, competence and quality.

Williams also explained how media has modernized, but the fundamentals have not changed. We hear a story, we go find out whether it is true, and then tell others.

Manny Ayala added that the media has changed in the way that in the past, one created something once and used it once, but now content is produced and then added to, altered and reused forever.

The panelists agreed that in order for a media to get a certain reputation, a price needs to be invested. But, in the end, people will pay for premium brands.

Alexey Nikolov (CEO, Russia Today)

In an interview with The AsiaN after the session, Nikolov said, “The rumors about the media being dead have been strongly exaggerated. The rumors that the new media would make the media extinct simply didn’t stand the test of time. Content is what makes the difference. The way to deliver the content is changing and will keep changing. 3 years ago, no one heard of twitter. Twitter has come up out of nowhere and I wouldn’t be surprised that if something new, that we could not imagine will emerge in the coming years. But, trust and accountability will stay. People are learning. They are not as stupid as some speakers believe they are to be. In the long run, people will learn to distinguish between sources that can be trusted and cannot be trusted.”

Manny Ayala (Chairman of the Board, Rappler.com)

Manny Ayala commented, “I think sometimes we get so lured by new technology and we say wow, everything is so different. But, it was a relief to hear from BBC and ABC that some things don’t change so much such as the need for trust, verification, and engaging storytelling. If these things don’t exist, even if you have millions of bloggers or outsourcers, over time they will be found out. People will start to lose interest if these three elements don’t exist. So, I thought the session was very refreshing.”