A bastion of democracy: helping journalism survive and thrive

This year’s Connecting EU seminar, the EESC flagship annual communication event for civil society communicators, will be talking about journalism and the crucial need to preserve its independence and accountability as essential foundations for safeguarding democracy and preventing its decline.

Apart from mounting political pressures and restrictions in media freedom, journalism is facing unprecedented challenges stemming from the rapid rise of generative AI, and all the good and bad it brings. Can journalism stay relevant in a world, where, according to some reports, over 20% of young people rely solely on TikTok to get their information?

On top of this, old challenges, such as lack of media ownership transparency and insufficient funding, seem set to stay. What will it take for journalism to remain a cornerstone of democracy? How can civil society and journalists, as key democratic watchdogs, best team up in this new context?

Taking place on 17 and 18 October in Brussels, under the title ‘A bastion of democracy: helping journalism survive and thrive’, the seminar will include two panels and a practical networking session:

• Responsible journalism in the post-truth era. Is responsible journalism even viable today? In a world where media outlets are competing with influencers and social media as the sources of news, will journalism have to reinvent itself to stay a public good? Can the latest EU acts help make AI an ally of press freedom?
• The job of living dangerously – investigative reporting. Investigative journalism has a long history of holding power to account and providing a voice for those seeking to report abuse of position and privilege. What kinds of challenges do investigative reporters have to grapple with to bring the truth to light? What protection do they have at their disposal to shield themselves from threats? Can the EU legislation secure more freedom and power for them?
• Working as a press or communication officer in the age of Instagram, TikTok and AI – how to get your message across (networking session and workshops). Through presentations and hands-on workshops, the session aims to offer a glimpse into the brave new world of communicating to different audiences, including young people.

The seminar is part of the ‘Connecting EU’ series, now in its 17th year.  Every year, this event provides a platform for press and communication professionals from civil society organisations to network and discuss current issues of common interest affecting Europe. It brings together EESC members and other EU representatives, partner organisations from Member States, journalists and researchers to debate the hot issues of the day.

The Connecting EU 2024 seminar will take place at the EESC premises in Brussels and is organised with the support of the European Federation for Journalists and the Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism.