GIJN webinar on investigating autocracy - strategies and tips
Authoritarianism is on the rise around the world, from failing democracies to despotic regimes. Global freedom, already at a 14-year low, is reaching new depths as governments use the pandemic as a cover to further restrict human rights and free expression. Journalists are on the front lines of this backlash, dealing not only with growing hatred but with a sustained attack on the very idea of verifiable facts.
Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) is organizing a free global webinar on ‘Investigating Autocracy: Strategies and Tips‘ on 29 October 2020 at 2330 hours IST. GIJN is bringing together four journalists from Russia, Egypt, South Africa, and the Philippines — all of whom championed independent media when democracy in their countries fell under siege. They have reflected on the role of watchdog journalism in a climate of authoritarianism and will share strategies for staying effective and true to our profession’s highest standards.
Lina Attalah is co-founder and chief editor of Mada Masr, a Cairo-based news website that is one of the last remaining voices of independent media in Egypt today. Before that, Attalah wrote for Reuters, Cairo Times and the Daily Star, and also for Egypt Independent, which was shut down by the government. She was named one of the most influential people of 2020 by Time magazine.
Nic Dawes cut his teeth as an investigative and political reporter in South Africa and went on to become editor-in-chief at the Mail & Guardian and chief content and editorial officer at the Hindustan Times. Until recently the deputy executive director of Human Rights Watch, he serves on the boards of Coda Story, amaBhungane, and the Bhekisisa Centre for Health Journalism.
Masha Gessen is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of 12 books, including ‘Surviving Autocracy’ and the National Book Award-winning ‘The Future Is History: How Totalitarianism Reclaimed Russia.’ Shortly after the 2016 US elections, Gessen wrote an influential article, ‘Autocracy: rules for survival’ in the New York Review of Books.
The session will be moderated by Sheila Coronel, professor of journalism and director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York. During the era of Philippine strongman Ferdinand Marcos, she co-founded the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and served as its executive director.
This webinar will also be offered in Arabic and Russian.
2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India
Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and
multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.
The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry.
While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately
their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book
printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.
The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.
Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.
Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.
Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.
