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April 11
14:00- 14:45
Outriders Klub
How to cover elections not a horse race?
Alina Gîrneț
Diez, Moldova
Daniel Rząsa
Google, CEE
“In 2024 over half of the world will be eligible to vote” or “4 billions of people will vote in 2024” - those catchy headlines caught media and publishers thinking how they cover elections and why it’s time to really change it.
Surrounded by narratives, misinformation, lying politicians - who hope to be quoted not verified, media must make some tough decisions in order to fullfil their duty rather then just amplify “what he/she said”.
In CEE important elections behind us, important ahead of us. We want to look at what was already achieved and what else can publishers do to protect the most important democratic ritual.
15:00- 15:45
Outriders Klub
Putin, Orban, Ukraine, and the Illusion of a Divided EU
Dóra Németh
RFE/RL
Kristina Zakurdaeva
RFE/RL
Current Time, RFE/RL's Russian-language TV, and Szabad Európa, RFE/RL’s Hungarian Service, analyzed 15.000 articles published by Russian and Hungarian pro-government media, exposing the intricate dynamics of Russian and Hungarian state propaganda.
This investigation reveals an orchestrated effort to justify Russia's actions in Ukraine and to portray Hungary as an ally of Russia, which is far from reality, as Budapest has supported EU sanctions against Russia. The team used data mining techniques and data visualization to illustrate the difficulties of a hostile environment for independent journalism in both countries.
This investigation received a special citation in the 2023 Philip Meyer Journalism Award.
16:00- 17:00
Outriders Klub
The Stakes in the 2024 American Presidential Election
Michael Isikoff
Investigative journalist and author
Vjosa Çerkini
Journalist, filmmaker
Enormous stakes for the U.S. and western democracies in this year's presidential election, especially on the foreign policy front and how Donald Trump's all but certain nomination by the Republican Party fits into a broader global pattern reflecting the resurgence of authoritarianism.
17:00- 18:00
Outriders Klub
Changing landscape of conflict reporting
Graeme Wood
The Atlantic
Mateusz Mazzini
Reporter
Discussion about the changing landscape of conflict reporting, with particular reference to Ukraine and Israel/Gaza conflict.
April 12
11:00 - 11:20
Polityka
Fighting sanctions evasion: recent developments, systemic challenges and possible solution
Stanislau Ivashkevich
Belarusian Investigative Center
Sanctioned players use proxies to circumvent limitations imposed against them. When a beneficiary owner is sanctioned, a nominal proxy often takes his place in key positions of his businesses. Proxy companies and proxy jurisdictions are also used extensively to deliver goods to and from forbidden countries. The presentation will describe recent practices of both sanctions evaders and agencies tasked with combating such circumvention. We will also look at some of the reasons for their respective successes and failures.
11:00 - 11:20
Polityka
Politvyazynka: media project about politically imprisoned Belarusan women
Yauheniya Dolgaya
Journalist
Since 2020, at least five thousand Belarusians have been convicted in politically criminal cases. Now there are at least 200 Belarusians behind bars. According to human rights activists, at least 1,000 women have been convicted in political criminal cases since 2020.
During the talk you will hear the voices of political prisoners of Belarusan women generated by artificial intelligence. These are their real words, which they said at the last word in court and wrote in letters from prison to their relatives.
12:00- 12:45
Polityka
Digital culture: is there such a section in the media and how to write about it?
Bartek Chaciński
Polityka
Agnieszka Słodownik
Podcaster, educator
Critic, game scriptwriter
Paweł Schreiber
Olaf Szewczyk
Polityka
Digital culture, which encompasses fields such as film, visual arts, and computer games, often struggles to find a place in the editorial pages of magazines or online portals. Few journalists feel confident reviewing digital works, and these topics are usually assigned to technology departments or individuals with relevant expertise. However, there is a dearth of spaces where such critique is regularly conducted. In our discussion, we will explore the reasons behind this issue, along with editors and digital culture enthusiasts.
12:45- 13:30
Polityka
Not numbers, but people. How to cover the war through stories.
Daryna Tymkiv
The Ukrainians Media
Jagoda Grondecka
Journalist
Russia's war against Ukraine is reshaping world history. Initially, the world was shocked, but as time passed, narratives transformed into mere statistics, complaints, or tearful stories that seemed increasingly distant to those leading ordinary lives. Naturally, people tend to distance themselves from such news over time.
During the presentation, we will explore how The Ukrainians Media team adeptly covers the topic of war without losing the audience's interest and, instead, manages to attract new readers by introducing innovative formats and crafting stories that resonate deeply.
14:00- 14:45
Polityka
Mozilla Festival - in urge for Solidarity
Zeina Abi Assy
Mozilla Fundation
This year is urgent: there are 83 elections in 76 countries, the climate crisis is being exacerbated, AI is impacting employment and increasing the digital divide that impacts the most vulnerable communities, and global conflict is causing significant loss of life and growing decisiveness in the world. And AI’s role in all these issues is ever more pressing. So what is the task at hand? Join this talk to hear more about the Mozilla Foundation and the Festival and how you can get involved.
14:45- 15:30
Polityka
Investigating Datasets
Christo Buschek
Der SPIEGEL, Paper Trail Media
In collaboration with the Knowing Machines Project at New York University, Der SPIEGEL and Paper Trail Media have investigated the construction and composition of LAION5B and other datasets. The investigation traces this dataset’s construction and reveals the values and curatorial underpinnings of our AI revolution.
16:00- 16:45
Polityka
AI development - the need for a new paradigm
Jacek Nagłowski
AI researcher and astist
Artificial intelligence as a phenomenon shows, as through a lens, the patterns of social behavior we are witnessing in other areas as well. At the same time, reactive coping strategies sacrifice long-term prosperity for the illusion of immediate security, and consequently undermine societies' trust in the key institutions responsible for finding and proposing solutions: the academy, the media, state and supranational institutions. Based on the analysis of artificial intelligence systems as an example of information complex systems, I would like to propose a certain interpretation of all these overlapping crises, which perhaps offers hope for controlling fears, and consequently opens spaces for finding viable and effective solutions. A way that, instead of leading us to wring our hands, pretend that everything will somehow work itself out, or fight against each other, will perhaps allow us to adopt more constructive attitudes towards reality. as a counter to the fearful narratives of modern times.
18:00- 19:00
Outriders Klub
It's Time To Become a Journalist-Creator: How and Why Journalists Should TikTok
Sophia Smith Galer
TikTok, BBC, Vice News
Sophia walks through her process of scriptwriting for social media video, and how algorithmic journalism should become a focal point of every newsroom.
April 13
12:00- 12:45
Outriders Klub
Great Storytelling as Antidote to Polarization
Andrew Mills
Journalist
In an era where increasing political polarization threatens the very fabric of pluralistic democracy, Andy makes the argument that effective storytelling is an essential tool for journalists. The current media landscape, often marred by sensationalism and division, urgently needs to abandon confirmation bias and embrace complexity and nuance. Through the art of good storytelling, journalists have the power to illuminate the intricate humanity of our fellow citizens, fostering empathy and clarity amidst discord.
13:00- 13:45
Outriders Klub
Raising Empathy Through Narrative Journalism
Indre Kiršaitė
Nara.lt
Magdalena Kicińska
Pismo
In an alienated society, it is easy to retreat into isolation. NARA, a Lithuanian non-profit media collective, continually searches for new ways to start conversations about uncomfortable topics and encourage mutual understanding.
It is a beautiful digital magazine showcasing different stories from Lithuania. When all media look the same (hey Tiktok channels looking at you!) — we have to think how to keep the “magazine” approach to media alive and beneficial for users. Not everything has to be simple and massive. Niche also doesn’t have to be small — when you find your audience and solve their problems.
13:45- 14:30
Outriders Klub
When journalism needs an activist
Tytus Szabelski-Rózniak
AMZN artist
Agnieszka Lichnerowicz
TOK FM
Sometimes a journalism task requires so out of a box thinking that we need “art” to find a solution to tell a story. Tytus will showcase the thinking behind one of his stories.
15:00- 15:45
Outriders Klub
Illustrative journalism
Olena Lavruk
Inker
Will illustration and comics be the first victim of AI tools? Midjourney and friends are growing in its capacities giving everyone power to create their own quickly.
Illustrative journalism was never very popular, but done properly was always impactful. In many ways its used to show the reality which cannot be photographed or explained otherwise.
Together with our friends from Ukrainian Inker we will explore their creations and think where they see this genre going.
