Debate on European media at the hemicycle

“Belgian beer is good. It helps you listen to the spokesmen!” says Sergio Cantone as his final advice to young European journalists.

Participants of EYMD gathered in the grand Hemicycle on Wednesday evening to listen to a debate led by five prominent European journalists: Jean Quatremer (Libération), Hajo Friedrich (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Lorenzo Consoli (President of Association de Presse International), Sergio Cantone (Euronews TV) and Jaume Duch Guillot (Media Director in European Parliament). They discussed issues concerning the difficulty of creating European media and keeping European affairs at the forefront of our news, the decline of the printed press and the unusual relationship between journalists and politicians in Brussels.

It was perhaps Jean Quatremer, who received the best reception from participants due to his outspoken ideas. His passionate speech in French made most people in the room sit up and listen.

“He stressed that a journalist needs to be critical and that was right. The fact that he spoke French? Yeah, that was good. Europe is about diversity.” says Naomi from the UK.

Quatremer criticized French TV for having only two correspondents in Brussels. "How can a French TV-viewer be expected to know about Brussels?", he argued. As for the presse écrite (printed press), he described it sarcastically as “almost dead”.  “I'm sorry for these discouraging words” he added. On the other hand, he emphasized the role of the online media and the switch from silent consumption to interaction between journalist and reader through blogs. He was happy to admit that it challenges the journalist who previously could write as he pleased with little or no criticism whereas now they are constantly challenged.

 The debate received an overwhelmingly positive reaction from young journalists who were able to consider media in Europe in the context of so many different states. Laure from France said,

“The information versus analysis point of the debate was interesting... I guess that a journalist should not teach people what to think. They should give them enough information so that people can form their own opinion.”

The President of the International Press Association, Lorenzo Consoli, expressed his regret that the European papers and other media are more concerned about national stories than about European affairs. He said that the recent summit, although of equal importance to the ones of Maastricht and Amsterdam, was not covered thoroughly in the Italian press for example, where only few papers put it on the front page.

All the journalists agreed that freedom of press is in danger due to the overload of information. They also stressed the menace of being used as a propaganda tool. Sergio Cantone, correspondent for Euronews TV, advises that you should “never rely on one source but confront it with other sources.” Quatremer added, “We all live here in Brussels, we are a kind of  closed circle. We're all pals here. Politicians, journalists. And this is the danger. Never forget about it: you're not at their side!” Overall the debate proved to be a refreshing insight into the issues amongst European media makers, thought-provoking and devoid of the tired clichés we are so accustomed to.

 

 

Posted in 2007-07: EYMD 2007| 29.06.07

By: Emily Carpenter and Krzysztof Uminski