{"id":405027,"date":"2021-11-25T10:33:08","date_gmt":"2021-11-25T10:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=66773"},"modified":"2021-11-25T10:33:08","modified_gmt":"2021-11-25T10:33:08","slug":"media-advocates-tell-of-struggle-for-survival-and-truth-at-asia-pacific-forum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/11\/25\/media-advocates-tell-of-struggle-for-survival-and-truth-at-asia-pacific-forum\/","title":{"rendered":"Media advocates tell of struggle for \u2018survival and truth\u2019 at Asia-Pacific forum"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/category\/pacific-media-watch\/\">Pacific Media Watch<\/a> newsdesk<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Journalists and journalism are waging a global struggle for survival and for \u201ctruth\u201d against fake news and alternative facts, say two Asia-Pacific media commentators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWithout journalists who will tell it like it is no matter the consequences, the future will continue to be one of alternate facts and manipulated opinions,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/\"><em>Rappler<\/em><\/a> executive editor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rappler.com\/author\/glenda-m-gloria\">Glenda Gloria<\/a> told about 135 media scholars, journalists and researchers at the opening of the <a href=\"https:\/\/acmc2021.org\/\">Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC)<\/a> in Auckland today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs we\u2019ve experienced at <em>Rappler<\/em>, the battle to save journalism cannot be fought by journalists alone, and cannot be fought from our laptops alone. The battle for truth is a battle we must share &#8212; and fight &#8212; with other groups and citizens.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/2021\/11\/25\/rappler-chief-editor-and-asia-pacific-media-keynotes-at-pandemic-forum\/\"><strong>READ MORE: <\/strong>Rappler chief editor and Asia-Pacific media keynotes at \u2018pandemic\u2019 forum<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/acmc2021.org\/\">The ACMC 2021 conference<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cEach time our freedoms are threatened, we should have no qualms engaging other democracy frontliners and participating in collective efforts to resist authoritarianism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, she told the virtual conference hosted at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) she believed that journalists had the motivation and enough understanding now to \u201cstop the tide of disinformation\u201d that fuelled the spread of authoritarianism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn this environment, make no doubt: Journalism is activism,\u201d added the award-winning investigative journalist and author who heads the digital website that has repeatedly angered Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte with its expos\u00e9s.<\/p>\n<p>Another keynote speaker, <a href=\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/david-robie-4\">Dr David Robie<\/a>, founding director of the <a href=\"https:\/\/pmc.aut.ac.nz\/\">Pacific Media Centre<\/a> and retired professor of Pacific journalism at AUT, condemned a \u201csurge of global information pollution\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Disinformation damaging democracy<\/strong><br \/>\nHe outlined how disinformation was damaging democracy and encouraging authoritarianism across the Pacific, singling out Fiji and Papua New Guinea for particular criticism.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Robie cited how authorities in PNG had been forced to abandon mobile health clinics and teams of health workers carrying out covid-19 vaccination and awareness programmes because of the increasingly risky attacks against them.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66783\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66783\" style=\"width: 227px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-66783 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Prof-Felix-Tan-AUT-400tall-227x300.png\" alt=\"Professor Felix Tan\" width=\"227\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Prof-Felix-Tan-AUT-400tall-227x300.png 227w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Prof-Felix-Tan-AUT-400tall.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 227px) 100vw, 227px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66783\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Professor Felix Tan &#8230; a welcome from AUT&#8217;s Faculty of Design and Creative Technologies. Image: AUT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He said much of the content used by anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists which framed the covid-19 response as a fight between the individual and the allegedly \u201ctreacherous\u201d state had been repackaged from US and Australia vested interests.<\/p>\n<p>Dr Robie said universities could do far more in the fight against disinformation and praised initiatives such as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/factcheck\/\">RMIT fact-checking<\/a> collaboration with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/nz\"><em>The Conversation<\/em><\/a> news and academia project, <a href=\"https:\/\/junctionjournalism.com\/\"><em>The Juncture<\/em><\/a> journalism school website, and the new Monash University backed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.monash.edu\/news\/articles\/introducing-360info-a-new-resource-for-publishers,-broadcasters,-schools-and-civic-society-outlets\">360info wire<\/a> news service.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe challenge confronting many communication programmes and journalism schools located in universities or tertiary institutions is what to do about authoritarianism, how to tackle the strain of an ever-changing health and science agenda, the deluge of disinformation and the more rapid than predicted escalation of climate catastrophe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne of the answers is greater specialisation and advanced programmes rather than just relying on generalist strategies and expecting graduates to fit neatly into already configured newsroom boxes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe more that universities can do to equip graduates with advanced problem-solving skills, the more adept they will be at developing advanced ways of reporting on the pandemic \u2013 and other likely pandemics of the future \u2013 contesting the merchants of disinformation and reporting on the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr Robie, who was awarded the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.aut.ac.nz\/news\/top-asia-pacific-media-award-for-aut-pacific-media-centre-director\">2015 AMIC Asian Communications prize<\/a>, pioneered several student journalist projects in the region such as intensive coverage of the 2000 Fiji coup and the 2011 Pacific Islands Forum, and more recently the 2016-2018 Bearing Witness and 2020 Climate and Covid project in partnership with Internews.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Journalism Nobel Peace Prize<\/strong><br \/>\nGlenda Gloria said her entire editorial team had been delighted when their chief executive Maria Ressa was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nobelprize.org\/prizes\/peace\/2021\/press-release\/\">awarded the Nobel Peace Prize<\/a> \u2013 along with Russian editor Dmitry Muratov. Ressa was the first Filipino Nobel laureate and \u201csome of us started calling our office the Nobel newsroom\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis immense pride that we feel isn\u2019t just because Maria is our CEO, it is that the prize went to two journalists who have faced the toughest challenges imposed by authoritarian states,\u201d Gloria said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMore than that, the Nobel prize puts a global spotlight on the extraordinary dangers that we journalists face today.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo many of us in the Global South, journalism has always been considered a dangerous profession long before media watchdogs started ranking countries around the world according to the freedoms enjoyed by their press.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd yet, despite all that we have seen and experienced, it\u2019s no exaggeration to say that this is the most challenging period for journalism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt stake today is our very existence, our relevance, and our ability to speak truth to power.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The conference was opened following a traditional mihi by AUT\u2019s acting dean of the Faculty of Design and Communication Technologies, Professor Felix Tan, and ACMC president Professor Azman Azwan Azamati of Malaysia.<\/p>\n<p>Master of ceremonies duties are being shared by AUT\u2019s Khairiah A. Rahman, the chief conference organiser, and Dino Cantal of Trinity University of Asia.<\/p>\n<p>More than 40 media and communication research papers are being presented over three days with the conference ending on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/acmc2021.org\/program\">The ACMC conference programme<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66785\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66785\" style=\"width: 680px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-66785 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ACMC-2-AUT-680wide.png\" alt=\"ACMC conference\" width=\"680\" height=\"394\" srcset=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ACMC-2-AUT-680wide.png 680w, https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/ACMC-2-AUT-680wide-300x174.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 680px) 100vw, 680px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66785\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Some of the 135 participants at the opening day of the Asian Congress for Media and Communication (ACMC) conference in Auckland today. Image: AUT<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/2021\/11\/25\/media-advocates-tell-of-struggle-for-survival-and-truth-at-asia-pacific-forum\/\">Asia Pacific Report<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Journalists and journalism are waging a global struggle for survival and for \u201ctruth\u201d against fake news and alternative facts, say two Asia-Pacific media commentators. \u201cWithout journalists who will tell it like it is no matter the consequences, the future will continue to be one of alternate facts and manipulated opinions,\u201d Rappler<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38887,789,38888,606,5669,478,304,827,428,5,365,2094,21278,94,652,255,3332,358,12,796,14,653,1205,2178],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405027"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/41"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405027"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":405371,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405027\/revisions\/405371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}