‘Storytelling in digital world will remain traditional’
Experts tell conference only the medium changes, true journalism remains the same
The medium is not the message, and responsible storytelling in the digital era will always be “traditional”, experts said at the Manipal International Media Research Conference in Dubai yesterday.
Speaking during a panel discussion at the one-day event, held at Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Mahe), the panellists said the rise of social media and fake news has only reinforced the need to adhere to the ethics of journalism.
The hourlong discussion between four panellists — Ehtesham Shahid, managing editor of Al Arabiya English; Mohammed Almezel, managing editor of Gulf News; Dr Padma Rani, director, School of Communication, Mahe, India; and Sajith Ansar, CEO of Idea Spice, UAE — was held under the theme of ‘Storytelling in the Age of Disruption’. The discussion was moderated by Chiranjib Sengupta, Hub Editor, Gulf News.
Pointing to the advantages of technology, such as live stories being filed remotely to satiate ever-demanding readers, Gupta asked panellists, “Isn’t this kind of disruption good for us?”
Almezel said: “Storytelling will never change because the story has to be told traditionally — that is, properly. There’s no other way to do a story, which is doing it ethically, factually, and ensuring it is verified and unbiased. That content, which is the story, can be consumed through TV, the newspaper or WhatsApp. The content will remain, the platform doesn’t matter.”
As far as prudent journalism is concerned, Almezel said it will always be rooted in verifying the story and “answering all the basic questions”. He explained that the disruption in journalism is mostly related to the “support system” of a story — the way any accompanying video, graphic and other nontext content is created, displayed or delivered to readers.
Shahid said quick multimedia content from a dizzying variety of sources makes it harder for editors and reporters to keep audiences engaged. He spoke of a “digital fatigue” that has widened the chasm between people by creating opposing camps on social media.
Dr Rani said the youth were susceptible to “fake news”, first by believing unknown or unverified sources and then by perpetuating their content.
Ansar described how the disruption has impacted businesses and customers and said consumers used to be like a bullseye which businesses could aim at, but now they are like a fast-moving arrow.