Work in Times of Globalisation and Technological Revolution

THE CORK MUSEUM (MUSEU DEL SURO). PALAFRUGELL, 9 AND 10 MARCH 2017

SESSION IV. THE MEDIA IN TIMES OF GLOBALISATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLU- TION. Thursday 9 March, 2017, at 6 p.m. at the Palafrugell Cork Museum auditorium. Chaired by: Juan José López-Burniol, Notary, Writer and Counsellor of the ”la Caixa” Group. Speakers: Raphael Minder, Correspondent to Spain for The New York Times. Nacho Cardero, Director of El Confidencial. Esther Vera, Director of the newspaper Ara. Xevi Xirgo, Director of El Punt Avui.

The media, especially journalism, has been affected by a double crisis. The general one, affecting the entire economy and, specifically, one in relation to the emergence of new digital technologies and the proliferation of websites and platforms, nearly always free, with information. This change in outlook is greatly damaging newspapers, as they see their sales decline, while revenues from digital platforms for subscriptions and advertising do not compensate for the losses. As if this were not enough, many readers value all channels and all news spread equally, although some stories are false. Despite this situation, the four speakers state they are optimistic and believe that the media will not disa- ppear, but will be transformed. After all, the reader will need a professional to separate truth from falsehood to be sure that what they receive is true, verified, contextualized, analysed and organised. The media will give up the battle to be the first and will become committed to quality and news which can add value. The issue of financing necessary for the newspaper companies to work, like any other, remains to be resol- ved. Subscriptions and contributions arising from philanthropic initiatives seem to be the primary hope. SESSION IV. THE MEDIA IN TIMES OF GLOBALISATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL REVOLUTION

SUMMARY

Raphael Minder, The New York Times Correspondent to Spain explained how journalists are no longer engaged in seeking news, as there are more editors than ever and they find the news before journalists can “test it”. That is, to ensure accuracy “because that’s where the seal of quality is”, he said. He believes that ultimately, we will become selective “because we’ll realise that we can make mistakes if we believe fake news”, he pondered.

The New York Times Correspondent believes that without funding, “you can’t do good journalism”. This idea is in agreement with Xevi Xirgo. The sector was already affected by the general financial crisis, and one of its main sources of revenue, advertising, is moving to digital ground. But what the digital business collects in advertising revenues is much lower than what the paper obtained. Revenues must come from subscriptions and philanthropic initiatives, such as those used to revive The Washington Post, he affirmed.

Raphael Minder expressed his hope that readers would go back to paying for quality, but also predicts the demise of many media. However, he stated that he is optimistic about the future of the media, be- cause there is a legitimate concern about opacity and the spread of lies in this era of globalisation. In this way, the media can “restore the role it had at the beginning”, such as “participate in monitoring the democratic system”.

The New York Times Correspondent also warned of the change of protocol for communicating with sources. Donald Trump, for example, communicates with his followers through Twitter, not only with traditional media. “This is a revolution”, he concluded.

Nacho Cardero, Director of El Confidencial, believes that journalism will rectify what it has been doing wrong, and the behaviour that led to readers’ disaffection. Firstly, he said, “thoroughness, independence from political and economic power, and accuracy”, must be brought back. Second, the media should go back to being “at the reader’s service” – and treat them “with respect” – and be “critical of power” an idea with which Raphael Minder agreed.

The Director ofEl Confidencial stated that “the way we produce, distribute and consume information is changing”. Before the advent of digital technology, readers sought the originator, and now it is the other way around. The speaker asserted that there is a paradox: on the one hand, the media have lost control of the reader; but on the other hand, they had never reached so many people before.

Nacho Cardero explained that websites “will soon be a thing of the past if we’re not careful”, because many news items are now read on intermediary platforms, which are the ones who truly benefit. Ra-

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phael Minder agreed with the fact that we must invest in quality to achieve a distinctive brand.

Esther Vera agreed with the idea that revenue can be obtained from subscriptions, and she added that this formula will be adapted to each consumer’s needs. Nacho Cardero admitted the difficulty in drafting a business plan, since “50 percent of the audience”, in this case comes via mobile phone; but this instrument only “provides 10 percent of revenue”, he complained.

He pointed out that imaginative formulas must be used to do qua- lity journalism in times of limited resources, such as collaboration between various media when following a big story. Nacho Cardero cited the Panama papers as an example.1

Esther Vera, Director of the newspaper, Ara, distinguished between “news and information” because “the multiplicity of information is not news”. News, she explains, must go through a process of contextua- lization, analysis and hierarchy to be transformed into information. This work is addressed by “the tried and tested, honest journalist” an idea with which Xevi Xirgo coincided.

She also stated she is optimistic about the future of journalism because, “the calm comes after the storm”, the storm meaning the manipulations that she said “are the lies that have been around forever”. She also stressed that the media “must regain its dissident role” and ask itself if it might have at some time abdi- cated its responsibilities. The speaker believes that readers should be provided with quality information and treated with respect, as Nacho Cardero indicated.

Xevi Xirgo, Director of El Punt Avui, affirmed that he is the most optimistic of all the speakers because, although the world of journalism has changed greatly, there are now “more resources than ever and they are better and more influential than ever”. He does admitted, however, that the media also are ha- ving “a worse time than ever”.

The rapporteur believes that the specific crisis in the sector is the responsibility of the media themsel-

1 The Panama papers are legal internal documents from a Panamanian law firm called Mossack Fonseca, ranging from 1970 to 2016. These papers, which were disseminated by several digital media in April 2016, showed that there were members of the global elite who evade taxes and launder money to tax havens around the world.

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ves. Because when companies were making money they devoted themselves “to giving information away”, he lamented. They wanted to compete for immediacy and quantity, not quality. “Every media wanted to have the highest sales and the one that attracted the most advertising”, and so a battle began that was “slightly absurd”, a diagnosis with which Nacho Cardero and Esther Vera couldn’t agree more.

The idea also began to spread that papers would no longer be pu- blished because there were more “modern” options, he remarked. It is true that newspaper sales have fallen and will continue to fall, said the Director of El Punt Avui, “but they will continue to exist for several more years”, he trusted. Raphael Minder believes at this point that “only the magazine format will survive”. Xevi Xirgo pointed out that the gurus predicted the end of newspapers by 2010 and they’re still here in 2017. He stressed that “what everyone does agree, is that the media will not disappear”.

He reasoned that the essential factor is the construction of information. “The channel over which it circulates is of secondary importance”, added the speaker, while Esther Vera believes that part of the problem lies in the fact that we “value all channels equally”. Furthermore, Xevi Xirgo stated that because the market in Catalan is limited, what is needed is to give priority “to local information”.´

Raphael Minder believes that the limited resources will force the news media to bet on news items to which some added value can be given. This isThe New York Times’ policy with view to the year 2020, he revealed.

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KEY IDEAS

4 Journalism will not disappear, but will be transformed. After a period of multiplication of channels and news, readers will go back to appreciating reliable data that incorporates context, analysis and hierarchy until it is transformed into good information.

Xevi Xirgo

4 The companies themselves are partly to blame for the current situation. At a time of economic expansion, they began to give information away for free and began a battle to be the first.

Nacho Cardero

4 The way we produce, distribute and consume information is changing. Previously, the reader sought the publisher of the information. Now, it is the publisher who seeks the reader.

4 Technology has modified and increased channels of communication, but also communication itself. The sources begin to communicate directly with users, and they no longer rely on traditional channels. The media have lost control of readers, but they’ve never reached so many people befo- re.tos.

Nacho Cardero, Esther Vera

4 Advertising is moving from the paper to the digital world, but the final investment is lower. Jour- nalism needs a company. Financing will be achieved through subscriptions adapted to the consu- mer, but also via philanthropic formulas.

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KEY IDEAS

Raphael Minder, Nacho Cardero

4 Quality will be the factor of competition among media outlets, many of which will disappear be- cause, unlike now, readers won’t value all channels equally.

4 Journalism will regain its original functions, such as monitoring those in power.

Raphael Minder

4 The profile of journalists is changing. They no longer must be the first to break the news, but the agent who verifies it and ensures that the facts are true. Limited resources will also make it obliga- tory to only follow news to which added value can be incorporated.

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SPEAKERS

Juan José López-Burniol (Alcanar, 1945)

Holds a Law degree from the University of Navarra. He has been active in primarily four areas: profes- sionally as a Notary between 1971 and 2015; institutionally, as a member of several institutions; acade- mically as a Professor of Law and journalistically as a regular contributor to various media.

He has held various positions: Vice-President of the General Council of Notaries (1987-1990), Judge of the Superior Court of the Andorra Mitra (1987-1993), Magistrate and First President of the Constitu- tional Court of the Principality of Andorra (1993-2001), Member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the Government of Catalonia (1998-2005) and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Barcelona (2004-2007).

He has been Professor of Civil Law at the National Distance Education University (1977-1982), at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (1982-1990) and the Pompeu Fabra University (1990-2000); Chief Trustee of the General Assembly of ”la Caixa” (2005-2014) and Member of the Board of Directors of ”la Caixa” and Patron of the ”la Caixa” Banking Foundation during the same period. He is currently Trustee of the ”la Caixa” Banking Foundation, Director of Criteria, Abertis and Icaria, Social Initiatives, SAL.

He is a regular contributor to La Vanguardia, El Periódico, El País and El Punt Avui, TV3, 8tv and Cata- lunya Radio, and President of the Barcelona Tribune (1995-2005).

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Raphael Minder (Ginebra, 1971)

Holds a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University. He also holds a Master’s in Journalism from Columbia University in New York.

Correspondent for The New York Times in Spain and Portugal on politics and economy. He also writes about social issues such as illegal immigration and domestic violence in Spain and on sports, cuisine and culture.

He began his journalism career in 1993 at Bloomberg News, in his native Switzerland. He later worked for ten years as a Correspondent for The Financial Times, and resided successively in Paris, Brussels, Sydney and finally in Hong Kong, where he covered all the information in the area of Asia for his media. He speaks French, German, Spanish and English, although his work is always carried out in the latter language.

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Nacho Cardero (Guadalajara, 1974)

He holds a degree in Information Sciences from the Complutense University of Madrid. He is Director of the digital media, El Confidencial. Previously, he was Head of the Economics magazine La Clave and Head of the real estate information section at El Mundo.

He is author of the books Los Ppijos (La Esfera de los Libros, 2004) and Los señores del ladrillo (Bubok, 2011). He also published the book by Jesús Cacho, El negocio de la libertad (Foca, 1999).

He collaborates on the audio-visual programmes, Más de uno, with Carlos Alsina on Onda Cero and Espejo público, with Susanna Griso on Antena 3.

His last lectures were: “El Confidencial, a success story” (6 April 2016, Istanbul, Open Society Founda- tion); “The Panama papers and the role of the independent press” (18 April 2016, Barcelona Círculo Ecuestre) and “Investigative journalism, between heaven and hell” (12 December 2016, Madrid, Hotel Ritz).

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Esther Vera i Garcia (Badalona, 1967)

Journalist and Political Scientist specialising in international relations. Both her degrees are from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. She has been Director of the newspaper, Ara, since December 2015. She has worked in radio, television and the press.

She started as a journalist in radio and, subsequently, in the International Section of Catalonia Tele- vision, where she worked as a reporter covering events related to European and American politics. Between 2000 and 2004, she edited and presented the informational programme, Món33. During the same period, she was BCNY Professor of Journalism at the University of Barcelona and Columbia Uni- versity in New York.

With extensive professional experience, she has worked in Catalunya Radio, TV3, the newspaper Avui, CNN+, Cuatro and El País, where she worked between 2008 and 2011. From 2011, she worked as a Spe- cial Adviser and Head of Andreu Mas-Colell’s office, the former Minister of Economy and Knowledge of the Government of Catalonia.

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Xevi Xirgo i Teixidor (Cassà de la Selva, 1964)

Holds a master’s degree in Humanities and a master’s on the Information and Knowledge Society. Di- rector of the newspaper, El Punt Avui, since July 2011, when the names were combined. Previously, he was Director of the Girona edition of the newspaper El Punt (2002 to 2009) and from the purchase by the editor of El Punt, Director of the newspaper Avui (2009-2011).

His entire professional career has been linked to the Grup Hermes, in which he has played several roles, from Writer on politics to Section Chief and Director of the supplement Presència (1998-2002).

He was Associate Professor at the University of Girona for seven years, from 2003 to 2010, where he also directed two postgraduate courses in journalism.

He is currently responsible for the content of El Punt Avui, the digital edition and the El Punt Avui Tele- vision, the channel the newspaper chain launched in April 2015.

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