Der EBU-Generaldirektor Noel Curran sprach beim Prix Italia über die ernsthaften Bedrohungen, mit denen der Journalismus heute konfrontiert ist: die Erosion von Vertrauen und Wahrheit durch den digitalen 24/7-Nachrichtenzyklus; die Einschüchterung und das Schweigen von Journalisten; Finanzierungsprobleme, die zu einem "Short Cut"-Journalismus führen; die zunehmende Kontrolle der Global Player über die Bereitstellung aller Inhalte.
Dabei müssten vor allem folgende Maßnahmen getroffen werde, so Curran in seiner Rede, um sicherzustellen, dass der Journalismus überlebt und auch in Zukunft gedeiht.:

"As I've said, we in PSM need to continue to invest in our journalism.

We need to invest even more in digital newsrooms. The migration to digital needs to be accelerated even if that means taking the controversial decision to reduce the numbers of linear bulletins and teams and even if it means, in some cases, fully merging separate news teams within our organizations in order to shift resources to a central digital approach.

We shouldn't get complacent with rising linear broadcast figures last year. I firmly believe that linear still has a life. I've been saying that for years when others have written it off - but digital is where we need to be and nowhere more so than in news. And that is going to require some tough decisions on resource allocation and workflows in the years ahead.

We also need to invest in training our journalists and editors. The latest digital production techniques, sourcing and verifying social media material, data journalism, spotting and dealing with fake news and deep fakes. A whole host of new skills that lots of reporters have but frankly lots still don't.

We also as public service media need to invest in investigative journalism. It's expensive, dangerous and time consuming where sometimes you dig the stories out of a granite rock. That's why so many commercial media outlets have abandoned it already. That's why Netflix and others, despite their huge resources, largely avoid it. But we in public service media haven't and we shouldn't. Not at national level and not at the EBU. That's why we launched the investigative journalism network to unite the efforts of those across Europe doing this crucial work.

We also need to continue to invest in international news, which will not always attract the largest audiences. We are among the largest investors in international news in Europe and that makes us distinctive and better informs our audiences. While it may be easy, I believe it's just too simplistic, insular and dangerous a decision for us to cut foreign news coverage when budgets get tight.

We also need to invest in verification techniques such as AI deep fake detection technology, data journalism and fact checking.

We also need to be more transparent about how our news decisions are being made. France Télévisions and others are starting a really interesting policy of opening up some of the decision-making processes on news to the wider public which I applaud.

We need to fight hard to ensure that our organizations are properly funded to do all this, particularly as the squeeze on budgets can lead to a squeeze on investment, short cuts and a cutting of corners. This is key and a key role for the EBU too. But we also need to shift internal resources, recognise where the future lies.

We also need to collaborate more. Lets be honest, it's not something that PSM organizations have always done well. But we are changing - resources are diminishing, our competitors are growing and we need to co-operate to survive.

All these actions will get results."

Die Rede von Noel Curran in voller Länge finden Sie hier.