From getting to sharing information, "the internet changed everything"

Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu Opening speech at the Media 2020 conference ''Bringing media to the future'', Bucharest, 30th of June - 1st of July 2015.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is for a great pleasure to be here with you today at this event which brings together in Bucharest representatives of media institutions from all over the world.

I express my great satisfaction on behalf of the Romanian government that you have chosen Romania as the meeting point for such an important occasion. And I assure you that your host and partner in our country, the Romanian Radio Broadcasting Corporation has made every effort to make this event a success.

Dear colleagues, let me address only at the surface – because I am not a media specialist, I am just a diplomat – the main topic of your meeting, bring media to the future or the future of the press.

As diplomats of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of course we know that information is power. A while ago, journalism was made through three important channels: radio, TV, and printed newspapers.

But the internet changed everything, from getting to sharing information.

So now power means how fast you can obtain and communicate this information.

Sometimes everything is done almost in real time. And those who get the news first have the power.

But the true challenge is the daily competition and to provide pieces of information based on reliable sources.

So nowadays we face a double challenge: to get the information quickly and to get it accurate. I believe that this will continue to be the main challenge of the media 2020 landscape.

However, we can only imagine how this will look like by the year 2020. New ways of communication were born in historical terms yesterday and they have already become indispensable for all of us. The first SMS was sent 22 years ago. Google was founded 17 years ago. Facebook emerged almost 22 years ago, the same as Flickr and YouTube, one year after that Twitter in 2006.

These are most popular and used platforms but new ones are gaining ground and they reshape the way journalism is made and perceived.

They also reshape the way the institutional actors, such as the ministries of foreign affairs, the other ministries, the government as a whole, manage their public communication.

And these platforms are used as a source of information but also the channel of sharing that information with a simple click or finger touch. Moreover, internet is going mobile and consumer habits are expected to change dramatically as a result of this.

That is why public institutions also have to adapt. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making efforts to fully implement the term of ‘digital diplomacy’ using digital platforms to communicate about diplomatic action and foreign affairs objectives.

While recognising the significant role of paper based media, radio and TV broadcasters, the focus is on the growing impact of social media and social media networks and online publishing in shaping the future of the media markets.

The speedy development and the popularity of social media platforms opened up new ways in which news and views can reach target audiences and how they in turn respond and react, becoming themselves the source of information.

And today more than ever we can talk about genuine citizens’ engagement in the news making process but also in the public policy making process, no matter the channel used for transmission.

The citizen journalism and social media panel that I have seen on your programme was certainly focused on the fact that there is a shift in journalism and it has a significant impact in shaping the public agenda for institutions.

Not so long ago, being a journalist was something reserved for a select few with school and field training, resources and good sources.

It was their reporting, and, so a significant degree, their views that shaped the public agenda.

However, in more recent times, technology has brought about a tremendous challenge. The internet has become a daily presence, evolving from a basic communication and entertainment role to a worldwide information processing and dissemination network.

People get their information online and more significantly, they also create news using the same environment. So citizens report, publish, praise and criticise with a global reach that was previously available only to the biggest media channels.

Most importantly, they get involved to an unprecedented degree and they can make a huge difference. Humanitarian cases are a good example.

I know you will also attend a disaster reporting to save human lives panel and your choice of this issue proves that journalism does not mean just reporting but also helping those in need.

After the earthquake that struck Nepal on April 25, Facebook activated its safety check feature giving quick safety status updates which gave hope to many people that were expecting news from their loved ones.

Moreover, each pictured uploaded online was really worth than a thousand words and each TV coverage was overwhelming. Without your help, the media’s help, we could not have realised so quickly the magnitude of the disaster and the need for an immediate reaction.

A century and a half ago, it took days or weeks, depending on the distance, for a telegram to reach its destination.

Today everything is transmitted almost instantly. Digital diplomacy and social media communication have become indispensable tools, complementary to classic communication.

Social networks play an increasing relevant role in the public sphere as they become more complex and more participatory. As Kevin Allocha, the head of culture and trends at YouTube mentions, technology has brought a more open form of distribution resulting in decentralisation and more importantly, participation.

Given the strong impact of the internet, the social media is now also a tool to promote institutional policies along with other methods already established.

So, digital diplomacy adds new features to communication, bringing both opportunities and challenges for us.

Communication is accelerating, there is a must faster flow of information and the real time communication capability in crisis situations, including the possibility of alerting our citizens about imminent dangers or coordinating actions such as evacuation from risk areas.

We have a wider public audience and bi-directional communication that allows the public to establish a dialogue with the emitter or with each other. But it also generates competition for public engagement.

The question that now needs to be answered when managing the communication is how can we convince the public to watch and listen to our messages among the myriad messages they receive from all kind of sources, either official or not.

In my view, in addition to managing and distributing the information, another major challenge for broadcasters and content providers will be delivery of trusted evidence data.

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, I cannot end my intervention without mentioning that I am confident that the true power of mass media will prevail throughout 2020.

The means of mass communication, be it through social media or classic broadcasting, can impact people all over the world and help them bring their contribution to building a common area of democracy, prosperity and stability.

Media is often called the watch dog of democracy and in the present geopolitical context, especially in our close neighbourhoods, with security crises in many places but also with extremist tendencies rising, it is crucial that the press is aware of this important role.

We count on you to carry on this mission by protecting and fighting for the rule of law, for the human rights and fundamental freedoms as well as for the principles and norms of international law.

Your commitment to defining and promotion a professional media market, accessible and adaptable, but remaining true to its core principles of honesty and transparency, gives me hope that with your help, the relevant messages will reach the public in a clear and undistorted manner.

And this has particular relevance in these moments, when we can see journalism’s dark alter ego propaganda trying to gain ground again.

There is a very old saying that the truth will set you free. True journalism has achieved on an unprecedented scale helping to set minds free from ignorance, from oppression and from fear.

In today’s digital age, journalism has helped turn people into genuine global citizens. The importance of its mission cannot be ignored and that is why I wish you success in your endeavour in which I would like you to see us as a partner.

Congratulations on this initiative to organise this conference and once more, a warm welcome to Bucharest.

Thank you so much.