MUMBAI: The power of trust in the media and citizen journalism are among the topics to be discussed by top media names at a two-day forum in London next month, to be hosted by the BBC and Reuters.
The 2006 We Media Global Forum will bring together personalities from media, business and technology to discuss and collaborate on how the media can foster trust and influence global issues in a world made smaller by the Internet. The Forum takes place on May 3 and 4, presented by The Media Center, a US-based non-profit think tank committed to building a better-informed society in a connected world.
The speakers include actor Richard Dreyfuss, Google partnerships dierctor Joanna Fields, Reuters CEO Tom Glocer, Meetup.com founder and CEO Scott Heiferman, Al Jazeera DG Wadah Khanfar, Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon, Guardian Newspapers CEO Carolyn McCall, BBC global news director Richard Sambrook, Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger.
The event will have a live broadcast of the BBC's World Service programmes, World Have Your Say, and an interactive experience with the Digital Assassins, a group of disruptors and innovators in digital media. Day 2, at Reuters global headquarters in CanaryWharf, includes a series of satellite-linked "town hall" meetings around the world, and an in-depth look by venture capitalists and business leaders at the changing economics of media and value of social capital.
The Global Forum will offer glimpses of the future in short "Future Forward" segments - first looks at emerging technologies and media from leading developers, entrepreneurs and companies. BBC DG Mark Thompson said, "Trust has always been central to BBC values. We all know the pressures that news organizations face in this fast changing multi-media world. I am delighted to welcome participants to the We Media Global Forum and I hope that it will provide a valuable opportunity for all of us to share our insights."
Glocer said, "The balance of power between content creators, suppliers and consumers is changing, with an end to the notion of a passive audience. The ramifications of this new phenomenon are most acutely felt in the area of trust. As consumers, this democratization of media will have profound effects on where we source news and entertainment, and whom we trust. For a company like Reuters, this is a great time to be taking a 150 year-old news brand in exciting new directions."
