Faculty of Communication Studies reflects on how journalism has been transformed

On Wednesday, 22 May, the Faculty of Communication Studies held the first session of talks and debates in the cycle"Where are we? Where are we going? Reflections towards an understanding of the world that is arriving”. The talk was about the new media that have appeared in recent years, just as the crisis affects, not only the economy and politics, but also journalism.

24/05/2013

The talk was part of the series "Rethinking journalism: new media in times of crisis" and included Carlos Zeller, a sociologist and lecturer at the Department of Media, Communication and Culture, Eva Domínguez, a journalist and lecturer at the UPF and the UOC, Andreu Missé, member and director of the journal Alternativas económicas, and Jordi Pérez, a journalist and author of ObamaWorld.es, a blog on international politics. They discussed the transformations taking place in journalism, from a positive, rather than a negative stance.

Carlos Zeller stressed that the crisis affecting society is one that "has revealed the shortcomings of representative democracy, of our political and economic structures". A crisis that has also affected journalism, with a "collapse of the model of growth, through over-dependence on the financial system” and a “legitimacy crisis" produced by the "interests and necessities of the major political, economic and institutional actors that constitute the Media's system of sources”. Zeller claimed that the deterioration of journalism can be fought against through "new proposals" to rebuild democracy, and by "rethinking the nature of the job” in a way that can gain "citizens' trust".

For her part, Eva Domínguez spoke about what she calls "microjournalism", small projects related to journalism that have appeared as a "response to the crisis in the industry or in the exercise of the profession”. Domínguez stressed that "this is a good moment for us", in the sense that "previously we could only engage in traditional journalism and we had to ask for permission to do so, whereas now we can create our own journalism”. She also gave some tips for doing microjournalism, like constantly exploring new formats, connecting with the audience and gaining their trust, and collaborating with other projects.

One example of new media is Alternativas económicas. Andreu Missé spoke about this magazine, of which he is a member and director. It is a non-specialist, economic monthly run by a workers' cooperative. Jordi Pérez talked about ObamaWorld.es, his blog on international politics. Pérez is co-editor, with Eva Domínguez, of the books "Microperiodismos" and "Microperiodismos II", published by Editorial UOC, which promotes small journalism projects.

The talk given on Wednesday 22nd was the first in the lecture cycle "Where are we? Where are we going?, proposed by students of Journalism and organised by the Department of Media, Communication and Culture. The cycle aims to offer constructive proposals from a critical standpoint, especially regarding the desolate landscape of the last few years. Planned for next year is a series of lectures on cooperativism and journalism and another that will reflect on contemporary society.