WELCOMME TO 32nd ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Welcome to Cavtat for the 32nd Annual Conference!
First of all, I would like to thank HRT for hosting the 32nd Annual Conference of CIRCOM Regional.
It is a great honour and a real pleasure to be here in Cavtat, Croatia. Especially because the city of Cavtat has a symbolic meaning for CIRCOM Regional. As you may know, in 1999 – exactly 15 years ago - CIRCOM Regional held its 17th conference here.
So, welcome for 2 days of debates and discussions based around 3 action verbs, namely: “Change, Challenge, Create”.
Change - because threats to regional public media services are on the increase, especially – but not exclusively - on the financial side. It means that regional media have to make their revolution. A technical revolution of course, and a digital revolution also, without losing their values and the interest of their viewers. Challenge - less money, new technologies, more devices, internal and external pressures - all this is challenging the regional PSM all over Europe. And this is true everywhere. No one can say that they are sheltered from this storm.
Create - a new type of regional PSM have to be invented. New in the way we produce, new in the way we talk with our audience, through television, radio, smartphones, tablets…
So, as you can see, we have a very interesting and relevant programme put together by HRT, the Croatian public broadcaster. I hope you’ll find pertinent answers to all your questions during the multiple sessions of the Conference. And of course I am sure that no one will miss the Prix CIRCOM, where the best regional programmes from all over Europe will be competing. And if you take a look at the Hotel Croatia where this 32nd Annual Conference will be held, I think it’s very appropriate that I say to you:
“Welcome on board”!
Jean-Marc Dubois, President, CIRCOM Regional
The formula is heritage and change
For many years HRT has been a strong supporter of CIRCOM Regional. I and all other representatives of the membership extend our gratitude for this year’s hosting of our annual conference. Focusing on the development of journalism is also more important than in many years – enjoy. The fact that Cavtat once again is the meeting place for our annual conference brings a feeling of heritage and tradition to the party.
In these days media landscape heritage is a valuable asset. But it is only valuable if it is combined with change. This is as relevant for broadcasters as it is for an organisation like us, and we have changed. CIRCOM Regional has become the strongest representative body of Europe’s Regional Public Service Media and addresses all 47 countries represented by the Council of Europe. As our membership is developing we move from representing regional broadcasters to representing Regional Public Media Service companies. It strengthens our representational role, broadens our membership base and increases our footprint.
Four years ago our organisation was in a problematic situation with several difficulties to work out. The organisation came together and with a lot of effort CIRCOM Regional is back on its feet. As of now we have developed new strategies to secure the future. This, of course, is resulting in changes that you gradually will notice and most certainly like.
Several co-productions are going on and for this we have a brand new exchange platform to be used by all the members. From this year on CIRCOM Regional is giving financial support to members to host the conference and poignant, focused workshops. This will secure information sharing, development and training in relevant areas. At the same time we are developing new training courses and have maintained the successful ones. For the first time in many years CIRCOM Regional also has a noticeable and recognised presence as the voice of Regional Audio-visual Media. We also have located funding from institutions for the benefit of members. To ensure cost efficient operations, meetings and communication we are working in cutting edge IT-areas and have reviewed our finances, focus on quality and concrete deliverables to the membership. As a result CIRCOM Regional has recruited several new members.
So, heritage, tradition and change – here we are!
Johan Lindén, Secretary General, CIRCOM Regional
CIRCOM, Cavtat, Croatia for Change, Challenge Create
CIRCOM in Cavtat, Croatia and the Conference with the slogan Change, Challenge, Create, has a goal to remind us what regional public service is about. Regional public service is here to remain as a public guardian of diversity and public values. As broadcasting itself became a new media, as regional media organizations are finding new ways to deliver content, the mission of regional public service remains the same. In such an environment, protecting professional journalism and news values is more actual than ever. All our strategies, technologies, production decisions should have that in mind. To Cavtat we bring the best practices in order to help you find your way.
Tena Perišin, Vice President, CIRCOM Regional
HRT National Coordinator for CIRCOM Regional
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
CIRCOM IN CAVTAT - CLOSE TO DUBROVNIK, CLOSE TO EUROPEAN REGIONS
HRT/Croatian Radio Television hosts the 2014 CIRCOM Regional Annual Conference in Cavtat, a city only 30 kilometers from the historic town of Dubrovnik and in the vicinity of the international airport.
The conference will take place on May 8th and 9th 2014.
Cavtat and Dubrovnik Photo Gallery
(photos by Ivo Pervan and Željko Tutnjević)
CHANGE, CHALLENGE, CREATE!
The main focus of the Conference is “Regional public service: change, challenge create!”
The focus is to prompt discussion on what kind of journalism we are pursuing and how, and the importance of regional public service in enhancing and encouraging it.
It is of major importance to move the debate from issues of pure technology to strategic and professional issues in the fast-changing media landscape. As a result of technology changes and economy crises, how to protect professional journalism and professional standards in our everyday work is more current than ever.
WHAT WOULD A REGION BE WITHOUTH A PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE?
The main concern of regional public service should be to keep public regional television as a guardian of diversity and public values.
The Conference sessions will focus on strategic issues, impact of technology on journalism and newsroom organization and most of all on professional issues and keeping professional journalistic criteria amidst external and internal pressures.
Investigative Journalism: Check Your Facts, with Hans Peterson Hammer SVT, and Paul Maguire RTE.
Two of Europe's leading investigative journalists present the tough reality of investigative journalism. Award winning speakers, working at the cutting edge of investigative journalism, will share some of their stories outlining the amount of work and effort required to bring a story from idea to transmission and the need to check your facts all the time.
CONVERGENCE IN OUR NEWSROOM
As television nowadays has been changing and becoming a new media itself, media professionals from regional stations will present some of the innovative practices in the newsroom and how to take advantage of web and social media.
As many of our stations are coping with integration and convergence in the newsroom, two sessions are dedicated to the integrated newsroom.
BBC team will produce a session on integrated newsroom and developments in BBC regional centers, and their communication with central newsroom in London. With Nikki O’Donnell from BBC Norwich, Antony Dore BBC Newsroom editor and Guy Pelham, media consultant, ex BBC editor, involved in BBC Integrated Newsroom Project.
Guy Pelham who was deeply involved in the project of BBC London’s integrated newsroom, which included moving the BBC London newsroom to one location after years being on separate locations, and converging the media into one workflow. The idea of inviting someone to speak about London’s operation is to compare the changes in smaller regional centers and their interplay with huge operations.
Tone Kunst from NRK, Norway and Jyri Kataja-Rahko from YLE continue with their examples from the regions. YLE presents the project called Reinventing Newsroom. As YLE was the who was the first to introduce the integration of Radio, TV and Web, it will be interesting to hear their experience and why they need to “reinvent”. What is the role of regional centers in the whole process presently and in the future?
NRK is one of the most appreciated brands in Norway. They change, converge and they still manage to be trustworthy.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS AND MEDIA EXPERTS
MARK DEUZE
The keynote speaker at the opening of the Conference is Mark Deuze, Professor of Journalism at the University of Amsterdam, and before that at Indiana University and the University of Southern California in the United States. As a keynote speaker he will present his research showing how urgent it has become to understand the reality of how all aspects of life have converged with media. Deuze uses the term media life as a life is completely immersed in media where all our experiences are underpinned and overarched by media, and explores how this context can shape and inform the work of journalists.
Mark Deuze's Media Life Course - Outline
NIC NEWMAN
The keynote speaker on the second day of the Conference is Nic Newman, digital strategist from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. The Institute is part of Oxford University and its core funding is from the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Nic Newman will also present useful material from the Foundation and the Institute and inform us how to apply for the TR fellowship Thomson Reuters Trust Index.
Nic Newman's "Journalism, media and technology predictions 2014"
GUY PELHAM
Guy Pelham is an independent media consultant, specialising in news and technology.
His specialities are:
Broadcast technology, particularly for newsgathering
Communications: de-mystifying complex technical issues
Project leadership and management
Media awareness
Change management
NATALIYA GUMENYUK LinkedIn ~ Facebook
Nataliya Gumenyuk, a special Guest of the conference, is one of the best Ukrainian journalists with a great broadcasting experience. As a foreign news correspondent she reported on many major political and social events in 40 countries including the Caucasus, Central Asia, Balkans, Africa, Middle East, Iran, China, India, East Asia, Cuba. She was nominee of EMMY INTERNATIONAL AWARD 2009. She was intern in BBC Hard Talk, BBC World, Independent, The Guardian, Chatam House. She is a co-founder of a new Ukrainian public channel: Hromadske TV
Natalya teaches ‘Global Journalism’ at the School of Journalism (National Kyiv Mohyla Academy) and is an activist of the Stop Censorship! movement which aims to defend freedom of speech in Ukraine.
BLATHNAID HEALY
Consultant who works mainly with media organisations. She previously worked for WorldIrish.com, an online community with a focus on user generated content. Prior to this, Healy worked for RTÉ across its digital platforms. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in Chicago with a Masters of Science in Journalism. Recently, she has researched and written a report for CIRCOM Regional about social media and online community.
HANS PETERSON HAMMER
Editor-in-Chief, SVT Västnytt
Hans has 30 years experience as reporter and editor for newspapers and TV in Sweden. He won the Swedish IRE-organization FGJ editor-prize "Gyllene Dynamon" in 2006. His regional news station has won the FGJ award for investigative journalism four years in a row. In five years they have won eight nominations with ten different reporters - about a quarter of the staff.
GUDRUN GUTT
Head of Newsgathering, ORF
Born in Romania (German minority) in 1956, studied German and English Literature at the University of Bucharest. In 1979 moved to Austria Vienna and in 1980 started to work at ORF, Eastern European Desk.
Gudrun has been working as a journalist at the International Desk for many years before she was assigned to build up the Newsgathering in ORF. She is as well in charge of "scouting" talented young journalists and training them. She is also a trainer at the Human Resources Department of ORF and at the School of Journalism in Vienna. Since the 90ties she represents ORF at the EBU. Currently she is a Vice chair of the EBU News Committee and Chair of the Editorial Subcomittee.
HOTEL CROATIA IN CAVTAT HOSTS ALL EVENTS
The conference programme will take place in two halls – auditorium and the smaller conference room. The exhibition area will have stands of various media institutions or technology presentations (4G coverage, drones, etc.).
Additionally there will be a viewing room to watch PRIX CIRCOM entries at any time.
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
ADDITIONAL CONFERENCE EVENTS
1. MOBILE JOURNALISM WORKSHOP taking place in Dubrovnik prior to the Conference. The packages produced by smartphones will be presented at the session the second day of the Conference.
2. COPRODUCTION CITIZENSHIP – presentation of the results of the CIRCOM coproduction project which included 7 countries.
3. MEET THE WINNERS – discussion with the winners of PRIX CIRCOM in 10 categories.
4. PRIX CIRCOM GALA – the award BROADCAST - HRT is planning to provide the broadcast coverage of the event.
5. WEB STREAM of the whole Conference