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Published: 27 May 2022

39^th Annual Conference 2023

Held on 1st and 2nd June 2023 at the Kursaal Congress Centre in Donostia - San Sebastián, Basque Country, Spain, our conference offered a unique opportunity to learn from top industry experts and connect with peers from across Europe.

Hosted by EITB, the Basque Radio and Television, this conference was a valuable experience for media professionals at all levels. 

 

Conference Programme

No matter your area of interest in the media industry, you had
the opportunity to attend sessions on a variety of engaging topics.

June 1^st, 2023 Conference day 1

Venue: Kursaal Congress Center
8:30 Conference Registration

9:30 Opening Ceremony

9:45 Session 1: News & Young Audiences

• The Kaleidoscope: Young People's Relationships with News

Drawing on significant studies for the Reuters Study for the Institute for Journalism and Channel 4, as well as two decades of experience in researching such matters, Konrad Collao will give a snapshot of how young people in Brazil, the USA and the UK perceive news and news providers. Aiming to go beyond broad-brush characterizations of 'Generation Z', the research-based presentation shown how many of the narratives about young people do not bear scrutiny. The session culminated in a realistic-yet-positive set of takeaways for 'traditional' media brands.

Speaker: Konrad Collao, Founder, Craft
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Konrad founded Craft in 2011, following a successful career in media research. Craft is a strategic insight agency based in the UK, specialising in the media, technology and entertainment sectors. The agency conducts research across the globe for clients including the BBC, Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery. As well as delivering landmark research studies, Konrad is a regular speaker and commentator on media research, the media habits of young people and how his sectors of expertise are developing in these times of rapid and constant change.

• 5 Tips to go Viral With Young Audiences

Everyone who says that young people have a short attention span are wrong. Young audiences can watch an entire season of Game of Thrones in one night. It’s about the right stories, in the right format, on the right platforms, created with the right strategy, and the right workflows.

Seen is a publisher with 7 million followers aged 13-24. They’re sharing their secret formula on 5 tips to go viral with young audiences. Seen uses Augmented Reality to turn citizens into journalists. They publish 12 shows to young audiences covering everything from Sex Ed to Mental Health. The media company reached over a billion views in the last 12 months.

Speaker: Nella Etkind, Head of Studio at Seen
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Based in South Africa, over the last 10 years, Nella has worked across broadcast in live television, radio, podcast development, and documentary-style filmmaking. She has lived under many titles, be it presenter, writer, journalist, producer, production coordinator or content director. Today she leads a team in mobile journalism and augmented reality, as Head of Seen’s Studio department. Nella immerses herself in causes that are close to her heart be it conservation, fashion or human rights (not in that order). No matter the vessel of storytelling, Nella is always seeking new opportunities to better herself and the world around her.

10:45 Coffee break           

11:15 Session 2: Innovation & Trends

• De-cyphering Tech Buzz Words

Augmented reality, VR, AI, 5G, ChatGPT… these terms get thrown around as buzz words with little to no context as to how these technologies can be relevant (or dangerous) for journalism. Guillaume Kuster gave quick on-point sessions to better define and understand these words, anticipate how these high-tech novelties can impact society both in a good and bad way and how news providers can use them.

Speaker: Guillaume Kuster , CEO & Co-Founder, Check First oy
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Guillaume Kuster is the CEO of CheckFirst, a software and methodologies company focused on providing solutions to help understand and counter online disinformation. He’s also an expert trainer in the field of digital storytelling for the news and has trained 2500+ journalists over the world. He used to be a journalist for nearly 20 years for the French public service broadcasters Radio France and France Télévisions.

• The New Possibilities of Video

This session shown how to develope video narration to work on multi-channel; online and television. Noora Santavuori represented the concepts that are designed online first but their serving has been successfully extended to traditional television news broadcasts.

Speaker: Noora Santavuori, Executive producer, Yle Regional Operations
Noora is working as an executive producer focusing on online video and audio development at Finnish Broadcasting Company's Regional News and Current Affairs Operations. She is helping producers and journalists all over Finland to create a new kind of video narrative that works on both online and television platforms without modifying versions. Noora has been working in the media industry for the past 20 years. She has strong expertise and a background in radio. In addition, she has worked as a development manager in Yle Regional News Operations.

• Painting the Radio! The Final Merger of CRTV Galicia’s TV, Radio and Digital Channels

From breaking news managed by a team of 2 to big events combining all the company resources. That is the way the new Radio Galega studio works. Designed for multi-platform broadcast and streaming.

Speaker: Carlos García-Verdugo, Organization Manager, CRTVG
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Operations Manager of the Corporation Radio Television of Galicia and part-time professor at the Faculty of Communication Science of the University of Santiago de Compostela

• Admire3D: Mixed Reality Solutions for Enhanced TV Viewer Engagement and More Appealing Content

The Admire3D project, funded by the European Union, aims to revolutionize the TV industry by introducing innovative mixed reality technology solutions. By combining the real and virtual worlds, Admire3D offers a unique experience for TV audiences to interact with the live programme they are watching from the comfort of their homes. The project also aims to address technical challenges faced by content creators in film, TV, and live productions by providing tools that improve talent immersion and interaction with computer-generated elements.

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Speakers:
Steinar Bjørlykke, Head of Technology & Development, NRK Central Region
Educated at the Norwegian University of Technology and Science, Steinar Bjørlykke har worked as Head of technology for 15 years and as Broadcast Engineer and Project Manager at NRK since 2000. He has led transformational projects and managed technology and production departments both in Oslo and Trondheim. He has specialized in systems planning, workflow design and implementation, supply chain management and Lean practices.

Francisco Ibáñez, PhD, R&D Projects Director, Brainstorm Multimedia
Francisco Ibáñez has a PhD Doctorate in Industrial Engineering from Polytechnics University of Valencia. He is working as a R&D Project Director in Brainstorm Multimedia and has been working as a Project Manager in the Toy Research Institute for 10 years and a MER (More Experienced Researcher) in KinopTim Marie Curie Actions in UB and NTUA. He has also worked as an expert reviewer for the European Commission under ICT Programmes. He has coordinated and managed more than 20 research and development projects at national level in Spain in the areas of Advanced Visualisation and Interaction, 3D Graphics, Serious Games, Design and Product Development, Collaborative Design, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing, 3D Web, Simulation, Quality and EFQM, Management Systems (ERP, CRM) and Electronic Commerce.

• How the 13 Dutch regional public broadcasters embrace innovation and shape digital transformation together

Presentation on how Dutch regional broadcasters are digitally transforming their business. How they are leveraging cutting-edge tools to transform their content creation process, gain insights from audience analytics, and deliver news in multiple languages for diverse audiences. Discover how AI-powered title generation enhances audience engagement, how data-driven insights inform content strategies, and how an app with news in different languages caters to low literate populations. This 15-minute presentation given by Jan Müller (RPO) shown the latest innovations that are empowering regional broadcasters to thrive in the digital age.

Speaker:
Jan Müller, CEO of the Netherlands Regional Public Broadcasting Organization
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Prior to his current position, Jan worked in Australia (2017-2021) as CEO of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, member of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Media History at Macquarie University, member of the Australian Broadband Advisory Council to the Australian Government and Chair of the Australian Media Literacy Alliance. He started his career in the advertising business in 1990 and worked for network agencies like BBDO and JWT. He has served as CEO of advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi in Amsterdam (2002-2009). He was the CEO of the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision (the media archive and media museum of the Netherlands, 2009-2017) and in a number of additional functions in the cultural and media sector: Chair of the Europeana Foundation (2015-2017), President of the International Federation of Television Archives (2012-2016), Member of the Council of the Polish National Audiovisual Archive (2013-2016) and Chair of the Dutch Media Literacy Network and the Dutch National Coalition for Digital Preservation and Sustainability.

13:00 Lunch      

14:30 Session 3: Public Service Media & Democracy at Stake

• Measuring Value and Impact – An Unavoidable Step to Secure a Future for Public Service Media

Roberto Suárez presented why and how public service media organizations must be aware, measure and communicate about the value and impact they create. By showcasing the experiences of the most advanced PSMs in this area, he illustrated how value and impact projects can be effectively designed and launch. He also provided insights and recommendations on how the results can be capitalized from a management and strategy perspective.

Speaker: Roberto Suárez, Managing Director, South 180
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Managing Director of South 180, a Geneva based consultancy specialized in helping organizations envision their future, simplify their strategies, and measure their value and impact. Before creating South 180, Roberto was Director of Strategy at the European Broadcasting Union and worked as a media researcher in several European universities.

• EITB, Building Value for an Ever-Evolving Basque Society

As outlined in EITB’s (the Basque Public Broadcasting Corporation) 2030 Strategy Book, one of their key areas of focus for the coming years is supporting the Basque society as it navigates through the many changes and challenges that it’s facing (like most countries around the world). Increasing its focus on offering public service value and becoming a significant transformational agent that helps the Basque society move forward have become some of EITB’s main goals. Unai Iparragirre, Head of Channels at EITB, took the audience through what changes they are making within the organisation and the way they operate and create content in order to deliver on the promise, as well as the new ways they are exploring to effectively measure the impact of EITB on the Basque Society.

Speaker: Unai Iparragirre, Head of channels, EITB
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TV executive with extensive experience in the industry developed over 25 years in channel management, editorial development, and marketing strategies. Mr. Iparragirre took the role of Head of Channels at EITB in 2021 and was previously a member of the senior management at Discovery Communications based in London (as Vice-President of Editorial Development, Editor-in-Chief at Discovery Turkey as well as Head of Emerging Networks).

• Journalism Under Fire - How Can a Foundation Make a Difference?

How can a foundation aim to be the best possible media owner, by uniting both a commercial and an idealistic strategy? The Tinius Trust Foundation is a major share owner in the Schibsted Media Group, where the Trust´s main objective is to strive for long-term sustainable development of Schibsted, to ensure journalistic quality and credibility, and free, independent newsrooms, The Trust shall also work in favour of - and subsidize projects - that impact the general conditions essential to ensure a free and independent press. How do we work throughout the Nordics and Europe, and what are the Editor-in-Chiefs opinions about us and their editorial independence?

Speaker: Frank Gander, Project Director at the Tinius Trust, Norway
Frank Gander has been working as a journalist and editor for 30 years. He left the public broadcaster NRK just before Christmas last year - after having positions as Head of Digital, Head of Documentaries, Investigative Reporting and Current Affairs, and Head of Editorial Innovation. He is currently the Project Director at Tinius Trust.

16:00 Coffee break           

16:15 Session 4: Disinformation & Fake News

• RTBF Fake Team : Vrai ou Faux?

With the multiplication of fake news, especially in this dark period of pandemic and wars, RTBF also specialised in fact checking and created “Faky”, its proper fact checking platform using fact checking tools to verify truth. Through this project, RTBF became part of “Disinfocheck”, a website by EDMO BELUX, a research hub that monitors disinformation in Belgium and Luxembourg by bringing together international experts from the fields of academia, civil society, media & journalism, fact-checking, and media literacy. Christine Schwarz, in charge of these projects, among other European projects with EU institutions in various fields, produced on different media and platforms,  unveilded her secrets: true or false?

Speaker: Christine Schwarz, Direction Info-Sports - Production Projets Européens, RTBF
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Christine Schwarz is a highly experienced professional who has spent over 30 years working for RTBF. With a Master's degree in electronic graphics from Coventry University, she spent 15 years as a graphic designer and eventually became the chief of the department. She later transitioned to producing prime-time news magazines with a focus on cultural diversity and special events. Her expertise in graphic design also helped her develop a fact-checking sequence, where she trained journalists on this new storytelling method. Christine now leads several European projects for EU institutions in various fields, produced on different media and platforms, and is part of a research hub monitoring disinformation in Belgium and Luxembourg.

• What happens to trust in news if we can’t believe anything we see?

In a world of generative AI, where credible fakes are able to fool us all, and with bad actors finding new and smarter ways to infiltrate our information ecosystems, what can good information providers do to ensure audiences know they can still trust us – and guard against becoming victim to bad information ourselves? Rebecca Skippage is the BBC’s first Disinformation Editor. She shown the challenges and opportunities of building a strong presence in this space, and sharing some of the ways we can learn from the bad actors to communicate good information.

Speaker: Rebecca Skippage, Disinformation Editor, BBC News
Rebecca is the BBC's first Disinformation Editor. She leads teams based in the UK, Africa and India that observe, report and investigate disinformation trends, verify and debunk misinformation, and create digital material to help people recognise and avoid 'fake news'. She developed and led the BBC’s verification effort of fake and misleading images during the Ukraine crisis. Rebecca was a 2020/1 fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, where she focused on how Public Service Media should learn from 'bad actors' to reach those currently missing accurate, impartial news and information.   A journalist for more than 20 years, Rebecca has advised the UK and EU governments and NATO StratCom on disinformation, and appeared as a speaker, moderator and panellist at international events on disinformation, security and media.

17:00 End of Conference Day 1

19:00 Prix CIRCOM Regional 2023 Awards Ceremony

Venue: Tabakalera

The ceremony celebrates the best productions in regional television broadcasting across Europe. This prestigious event was presented by Nerea Reparaz and Mojca Recek. 

 

June 2nd, 2023 Conference day 2

Venue: Kursaal Congress Center
8:30 Conference Registration          

9:30 Session 5: Delivering Audiovisual Media under War Conditions: Ukraine

During this presentation, the characteristics of the functioning of independent media in Ukraine, as well as their role in strengthening democratic institutions and recovery after the war, were discussed. Ukrainian society faces numerous challenges; besides the direct military aggression from the Russian Federation, there is a lack of state support for independent media. In addition, there is corruption and lack of transparency at the level of central and local authorities. There are also other pressing problems, such as the peculiar characteristics of the Ukrainian audience, which does not always accept organic models of media support (such as paywalls, paid subscriptions, etc...). Apart from these challenges, censorship and restrictions, as well as the influence of propaganda and disinformation have to be dealt with.

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Speakers:
Alyona Nevmerzhytska, CEO, Hromadske
Alyona is a successful media manager with nearly a decade of experience in Ukraine’s difficult and competitive market. Before starting to work with Hromadske, she was a key leader of the Kyiv Post, Ukraine’s Global Voice in the English language, which became a model of editorial and economic independence for news organizations. Readership and revenue increased to record levels, thanks to the multicultural and multilingual team Alyona supervised and helped assemble. She has a deep understanding of Ukraine’s investment, economic and political climate.

Victoriia Beha, Deputy chief editor, Hromadske
Viktoria Beha joined Hromadske in 2018 as a news editor. After a few years, she was promoted to deputy chief editor. Under her leadership, the Hromadske website tops the White List of the highest quality online media and the team wins prestigious awards. Viktoriia has developed an in-depth understanding of the Ukrainian media market, Ukrainian society and Russian aggression. 

Oleksandr Holmakov, Fundraising manager, Hromadske  
Olexander has extensive experience seeking funding for civil society organizations and project management. The success of his efforts helped Hromadske not only meet its current budget needs but also raise additional funds for further development. Olexander has developed an in-depth understanding of the Ukrainian media market, Ukrainian society, and politics.

10:30 Coffee break           

11:00 Session 6: Meet Prix CIRCOM Winners

This session was an opportunity to get to know the creators of the award-winning programmes. We met some of the Prix CIRCOM 2023 winners at the session on 2 June, the day after the Prix Gala. This is where the motto of this year's conference particularly came into focus. We heard from the winners, who shared their experiences with us and of course we were able to ask them questions. We met the winner of the CIRCOM Grand Prix, and we also gave special attention to the young people who are the future of journalism.

12:00 Session 7: Solution Based Journalism

• Constructive News at SVT

More and more people are actively avoiding news. Some say they get feelings of hopelessness and depression. The Swedish public service broadcaster has constructive, solutions-based journalism as a central part of its strategy. We heard about how SVT works to implement the methods to make it last.

Speakers:
Christina Johannesson, Project Manager of future competencies, SVT
Christina Johannesson is leading large strategic culture change projects in the news and sports division at the Swedish public service broadcaster, SVT. Christina´s audience dialogue project, "Fika med SVT", was mentioned in the EBU News report 2018, "50 ways to make it better". And her project "Leading news" was mentioned in "Hearts and minds; Harnessing leadership, culture, and talent to really go digital" (Lucy Keung, 2020). Christina used to be the head of newsgathering department in national news. 

Marcus Melinder, Managing Editor, SVT Nyheter Norrbotten
Marcus Melinder has a background as editor-in-chief for a local newspaper, as well as other positions in the commercial media. Before starting a career as a journalist, he was an officer in the Swedish Armed Forces.

• Hope as a Core Strategy

What happens in a news organization when you put hope as one of four pillars of your journalism? NRK has done just that: highlighting hope in what can feel like a hopeless place. This is not about cat videos and easy click baits, but by giving a fuller and more constructive outlook on the news. And it is taking the audiences needs more seriously, and thus working to creating a stronger relationship with the viewers. Ida Anna Haugen, head of editorial development, shared some of the insight and experiences relating to this work so far.

Speaker: Ida Anna Haugen, Head of editorial innovation, NRK
After starting as a news reporter back in 2011, Ida Anna Haugen has had numerous different roles at the NRK, among others Head of planning and front-page editors. In her 12 years at NRK she has worked on different projects involving online content and strategy, and is currently involved in a project to strengthen NRK’s regional digital position.

 

13:00 Introducing Conference 2024

Conference Guide

 

Photo Album