Madrid (EFE).- The president of the EFE Agency, Gabriela Cañas, defended this Thursday the “good journalism” represented in the works distinguished with the King of Spain International Awards, against the new way of consuming news, transformed by digitization , in which social networks and large platforms prevail.
In his speech at the award ceremony for these awards, the most prestigious in the Ibero-American sphere, which this year celebrate their 40th anniversary, Cañas called attention to this reality, of which, he assumed, neither the “profession nor the industry in general he is an entirely innocent victim.”
As a basis, he recalled the latest report from the Reuters Institute, published yesterday, of which he said “contains almost all the keys to this decline that forces us to peer into the abyss” and which states that “confidence in journalistic brands continues to recede after a slight improvement during the pandemic.”
Digitization of the media
“Digitalization has transformed the way of consuming news. The business model of the media industry has collapsed and people, not just young people, opt for social networks and large platforms to get information. On too many occasions, more attention is paid to the ‘influencer’ or the celebrity than to the work carried out by journalists”, explained the president of EFE.
For Cañas, participating in the “media circus” is “a temptation that many cannot resist” and “encouraging politics as a spectacle is a constant from which we professionals do not know or do not want to escape. We feed (yes, sometimes unintentionally) polarization and in search of audiences that elude us, we embrace frivolity and superficiality. We renounce reflection and contextualization because we believe that the information must be served instantly, ”she said.
He also referred to “sectarianism and bias -that which we fear transmitting to Artificial Intelligence- which undermines our credibility and condemns us, therefore, to irrelevance”: “many public powers in our democracies are aware of the importance of defending the good journalism, the kind that our six winners represent here today,” he asserted.
And, in this sense, he recalled that the European Parliament is debating a European Press Freedom Law that seeks to reduce disinformation and promote a healthy, pluralistic, free competition and transparent panorama.
“At EFE we find the defense that this regulation designs of the public media, necessary to curb populism and disinformation, with rigorous, transparent models, independent of the current leaders and with appropriate and sufficient financing to do their job, particularly interesting. “, said.
And “much is at risk and a lot of work needs to be done to adapt to a fragmented and poorly regulated panorama at a global level,” he added.
Reward quality journalism
For all these reasons, Cañas assured, “in this difficult scenario, rewarding quality journalism is perhaps a modest contribution, but it is transcendent. (The prizes) are awarded here, in Spain, with sustained institutional support, for countries where, sometimes, practicing the profession correctly and seeking the truth is an obvious risk.”
The president of EFE recalled that for the 40th anniversary of the King of Spain International Journalism Awards this year a photographic exhibition has been organized with the winners of these four decades, initially in Madrid and then itinerant.
“You will see few politicians. They will see images of violence and misery, but also of great beauty, generosity, empathy and humanity. Because that is also good photojournalism ”, he explained.
He also underlined the importance of these awards, which “make up small and large events that tell us History (with a capital H) written or viewed under the restless, honest and insightful gaze of excellent information professionals”.
He also highlighted the “good journalism that is done in Colombia, the most awarded country in the history of these awards: “its professionals have obtained up to 40 awards in 40 years. It is an achievement that is a long way from the countries that occupy second and third place (Brazil and Spain)”.