BEIJING - Media organisations have a challenge to transform traditional media and embrace the latest technological innovations if they want to remain sustainable.
This was the advice from Lui Yumshan, a member of the Politburo Standing Committee in China, during his welcome address at the second Brics Media Forum which commenced in Beijing, China, yesterday.
The two-day event is being hosted by the Xinhua News Agency under the theme “Deepening Brics Media Co-operation, Promoting Fair and Just International Public Opinion”.
A team from Independent Media is among the more than 20 delegates from several media organisations in Brics member states.
The senior leader of the Communist Party of China, Yumshan, who worked as a journalist for close to a decade, said there was no running away from technology, so media had to transform .
“As Brics countries we should change the way we view media or challenges will arise with the growth in digital media and the internet, which are (already) a threat to traditional media,” Yumshan said.
He stressed the importance of co-operation between media organisations in Brics member states, saying it could help to strengthen as well as highlight the work being done by their countries in fast-tracking economic development and ensuring good governance.
Yumshan urged media organisations to make an effort to report success stories of work being done by their countries under the Brics banner, saying that would assist in countering the dominance of “Western opinion”.
“In the international arena, there is a voice that is 90% pessimistic about Brics co-operation. Some rating agencies have downgraded us (member states) because they do not believe in our future,” he said.
He briefly commented on the recent rise in “fake news”, saying it threatened the credibility of good journalism by media organisations around the world.
Durban-based photographer Motshwari Mofokeng, of Independent Media’s African News Agency, spoke about the need for photojournalists to be “truthful and honest witnesses”.
Mofokeng’s work was featured in the Brics Media Joint Photography Exhibition, which opened at the National Museum of China yesterday.
The exhibition highlights 170 images taken by photojournalists in Brics countries in recent years.
Mofokeng said he was honoured to be part of such a prestigious event, and it motivated him to work even harder to constantly improve his craft.
“It’s important for us to be part of such forums so that we are able to share lessons on the challenges we face in our field in our individual countries.
“A different perspective can only help one grow,” Mofokeng added.