I met Andrew Moger, Executive Director of the UK-based international organization The News Media Coalition, in the bus on the way from Boryspil airport. Actually, had it not been for the diver, who did not know English, I would not have told the guest about the bus fare and there would have been no meeting.
That was Mr. Moger’s first visit to Ukraine. He came to take part in the World Newspaper Congress.
The organization Andrew Moger heads monitors restrictions on the activity of journalists who cover various, including sporting, events. Before The News Media Coalition was established, Moger had worked as crime reporter in The Times for 17 years.
“The role of journalists is to be inquiring, exacting, and to do the level best to be objective. So, there is this fundamental shift between events and the media. And it becomes more extreme because of the Internet and also because of the way that event organizers have the right to sell access and opportunities to read all this particularly to broadcasters. So there is now a market place that operates and free media struggle to find that place under some circumstances.”
Nowadays Internet copies of popular newspapers started to make paid content on the Web. How do you assess this trend? Does this initiative have a future?
“It’s certainly the experience of many newspapers that also had websites. When they’ve switched to the pressing mechanism, the visits have dramatically fallen. In some cases by 75-90 percent. But what is encouraging is that more news organizations also introduce controls on method reading of their websites – that actually the return of visitors is witnessed. That’s an encouraging sign for two reasons. Firstly, readers themselves are willing to pay. And secondly, dynamic shift going on, which will hopefully provide a solid financial basis for newspapers and journalism in the future. Without financial stability, news organizations cannot invest in proper journalism and again they must be recognized by society. It costs a lot of money to produce solid investigative, critical journalism day in and day out. And the Internet world of online journalists and bloggers serves a very good purpose but it’s not very successful in replicating the strength of the newsroom.”
How often do journalists in Great Britain face such problems as freedom of speech and restrictions in their activity?
“Frequently. There are sports editors who tell very often that their journalists struggle to get interviews with players, they are restricted in the way they can move around certain venues, others are restricted from the certain content they can create. They might be able to attend a press conference with the pen and paper but cannot turn on their tape-recorder or a video camera. So, yes, there are many restrictions like when journalists cannot write in the sport environment as well as certainly in the entertainment.”
In your opinion, how can this problem be resolved?
“Firstly, as a society we need to properly recognize the value and importance of the independent free media. If that is understood by society, the politicians and governance should quickly realize that they need to safeguard those interests by engaging with event organizations including sporting organizations to ensure that the free media have a free and valuable opportunity to create news. The News Media Coalition strives to ensure that media were profitable and respected in the society.”
Before Euro-2012 BBC made a scandalous video with Sol Campbell who called on British fans not to go to Ukraine, or they “might return in coffin.” How does your organization react to such type of journalism and biased reports?
“We certainly didn’t get involved in that one. But our principles are clear. Good journalism is appreciated most by society if it’s well-researched, factual, objective and comes from a disciplines of good journalism. Journalists are frequently tempted to take one fact and to build a story around that fact. And then it becomes an obligation for editors to ensure that the content which they produce and publicizing is objective. When dealing with events happening overseas, it is very tempting to reproduce hearsay and gossip without doing a proper journalistic job. And that might have happened in the case with Sol Campbell.”
I remember that scandal connected with Murdoch’s newspaper News of the World. In your opinion, how to stop journalists from doing such things?
“Well, it’s certainly the case that the demands on journalists to deliver news more quickly have increased hugely over the recent years. The internet, Twitter has done that again. So, the pressure on journalists is enormous. But there can never be any excuses for getting things so fundamentally wrong. I think that it’s important that editors and owners of news organizations recognize that. It’s important for a journalist to be properly trained, to be properly equipped to deal with situations. And there are too many occasions when young journalists lack the wisdom and strength to be able to operate properly and sometimes to say no to their editors.”
A few years ago two British journalists wrote a book, Londongrad, on the Russian oligarchs who had emigrated to London. One of the reasons why they are interested in no other place than Britain is open and fair justice. There was recently a scandalous litigation between Berezovsky and Abramovich. Have the British got accustomed yet to the Russian moneybags who are gradually investing in the British media?
“I think the ordinary man in the street is not worried about the involvement of Russian money coming in to business or into specifically the media business. That’s been a long history of foreign investment in British newspapers. And they have survived and there should be no issue. It is encouraging that there is money around to be invested in British newspapers and journalism. What’s critical is that editors pointed are strong enough to be able to uphold the standards of journalism that community would expect from them. So if we get to right stage where money converts into political capital through the pages of a newspaper – I think that is something British society would not want to see. Those newspapers that have received foreign investment have not displayed markedly different editor policies. And so I don’t think that it’s an issue.”
Britain has recently activated Magnitsky list. What effect can it produce on the relations between Great Britain and Russia?
“We are a part of any international community and British diplomats constantly seek ways to convince the Russian government of the importance of respecting human rights. The British media is a key pillar of British free society and I think we would want to see the freedom of expression increased in Russia as we would expect human rights to be followed as well.”
What impressions did you gain from dealing with Ukrainian journalists?
“I met a large number of Ukrainian journalists and editors. They are clearly following the way of digital revolution, determined to embrace the digital Internet world and all the other technological opportunities far faster than many other countries. But focusing on technology, you should not forget about the importance of freedom of expression, presenting facts, a kind of legitimate opportunity that our organization seeks to defend. So I would urge Ukrainian editors to continue: develop new business models and remember about the fundamental role of journalism in democratic society.”
