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World experts urged media not to be afraid of new technologies

The Internet gives an opportunity to the media to develop

MOSCOW, July 6 (Itar-Tass) —— The participants in the World Media Summit, which is being held in Moscow, urged the media not to be afraid of new technologies and demanding readers and urged the state authorities to protect better the rights of journalists.

At the summit Director of BBC World Service Peter Horrocks said with indignation at the section devoted to information challenges of the twenty-first century and world media that he witnessed the fear for social media, the Internet, readers and what they can do with people. People, who consider themselves as journalists, but are thinking as politicians, are speaking about it, he noted.

The Internet gives an opportunity to the media to develop, Horrocks indicated. Meanwhile, those times passed, when the readers were only listening to what the media were saying to them. Now they are writing the news reports and even quicker than journalists, as the Internet became an instrument for involving the society in the news-making and gives more freedom, Horrocks believes. It is needed to stop being afraid of all new things, Horrocks said, noting that if the media stick to old views and will insist on the fact that the information flow should be controlled, the media will lose in the competitive struggle.

The media should develop, keeping abreast with the times, should establish ties with the peoples of various races, civilizations, promote the concepts of development, mutual sharing of experience, encourage the progress of the humankind in all possible ways, perform a benevolent mission and public commitments and pay attention to social issues, Chief of the Asian-European Branch of the Chinese news agency Xinhua Chang Tegan noted.

Traditional media should realize the strategic transformation and should create a modern system for the dissemination of information as quickly as possible, he noted. Amid the formation of a multi-polar world and economic globalization the cooperation of various media is important as never before, they should turn in a platform for contacts and cooperation, Chang Tegan remarked.

The director-general of the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Pyong Ho, also believes that contemporary world is facing serious challenges. In these conditions “mass media should contribute to the development of harmony, equality, friendship among nations, countries and people irrespective of social and ethnic differences, he said.

“It’s vitally important that the media strictly adheres to the principles of entirety and precision in presenting information so as to fulfill its role in forming public opinion,” Kim Pyong Ho went on to say. According to him, various media have the right to existence but none of them should dominate the news space.

The KCNA director-general recalled that the Korean Central News Agency maintained traditional professional contacts with Itar-Tass, Xinhua, Kyodo, Associated Press, Reuters and other western news agencies “on the basis of mutual respect.” That created an opportunity for the opening of an AP bureau in Pyongyang to ensure the coverage by world media of events that are taking place in North Korea.

For his part, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Communication and Information Janis Karklins is convinced that the media should assume a higher responsibility and seeking to support the democracy they should insist on the struggle against corruption, transparency and accountability of governmental decisions, combating the scale of poverty and improving the human rights situation.

According to official reports, the year of 2012 may break a record for the number of murders of journalists for the last 15 years. Meanwhile, not only during the dramatic events in Syria, but many journalists were killed in the peacetimes, when investigating the criminal cases related with corruption and organized crime. This results in self-censorship and restricts an opportunity to express freely your thoughts, Karklins remarked.

The country, which encroaches on the rights of journalists, undermines the right of the society for information, he noted, urging all countries to supervise so that these rights will be observed.

The ITAR-TASS news agency organized the World Media Summit in Moscow under the motto “World Media: Challenges of the Twenty-First Century”. The summit brought together an unprecedented number of participants. Over 300 top managers, who represent 213 media outlets from 103 countries, participated in the World Media Summit.