SPECIAL EDITION- CONFERENCE UPDATE:

Book your tickets and start making plans!

“ROBOTS, GIANTS AND VILLAINS – Challenges to Journalism from Artificial Intelligence, Technology Companies and Governments”

ONO Conference

Copenhagen, Denmark

May 17 – 20, 2020

Welcome to 2020, and this special conference edition of our regular monthly newsletter.

The ONO Board is pleased to announce that this year’s conference will be held in Copenhagen from May 17th to 20th.

The original plan to hold the conference in London on those dates has had to be changed for a range of reasons beyond our control, but the Board is delighted that the new venue has been provided courtesy of our President, Bjarne Schilling (from the Denmark’s largest morning newspaper, Politiken)  and board member Lars Bennike (from Danish public broadcaster TV2).  Jesper Termansen, ONO member and User’s Editor at DR, will also be closely involved.

CONFERENCE THEME AND TOPICS

The conference theme – Robots, Giants and Villains – is designed to encompass the many significant challenges facing news ombuds and standards editors in the modern journalism landscape.

Robots refers to the impact of artificial intelligence in newsrooms, and the challenges of maintaining high editorial standards in the face of growing automation and the use of AI to produce content. The conference will be looking to invite a range of speakers and panellists to address this challenge.

Giants refers to the technology giants (Facebook, Google, etc..) and the ongoing impact they are having on the creation and distribution of news. Both in Europe and elsewhere, a range of initiatives are being considered to respond to this.

Villains as a theme covers those forces around the world that are working to undermine or frustrate good journalism. In many cases, this includes governments that seek to bypass, threaten or intimidate journalists and damage the public’s trust in news organizations.

Under these over-arching themes, a range of possible topics are being considered, including:

  • Artificial intelligence in newsrooms – how do ombuds and standards editors respond?
  • The current media situation in specific regions, including the Baltic States, Germany, and the UK (where Brexit still dominates)
  • Initiatives around the world designed to restore trust in the media

There will also, of course, be the usual ‘shop talks’ each day where members can discuss the practical, day-to-day issues that affect us all.

But this is just the start. In coming weeks and months, there is plenty more planning to do as we refine and develop a full agenda for the conference, and so we need your ideas and suggestions.

If you have an idea for a topic or a suggestion for possible speakers or panellists (including volunteering yourself – we have an immense array of experience and knowledge among our members) then please email newsombudsmenorg@gmail.com  with your ideas and suggestions.

BOOKING TRAVEL AND ORGANISING ACCOMMODATION

We will be in touch with members again soon with more precise details of the formal registration process. We will be maintaining the conference attendance fee at the same level as last year, which is US$500.

For now, we would encourage members to lock in those dates and begin to make the necessary travel arrangements.

In terms of accommodation, there are no discount deals able to be arranged with specific hotels, but you can easily find a range of suitable hotels on the usual booking sites (for example, hotels.com or booking.com). At present, rates at good hotels close to the city centre begin at just under 800 DKK per night – around 120 USD.

Please look for accommodation around the Copenhagen City, Raadhuspladsen or Vesterbro areas – or in Danish: Indre By, Vesterbro or Københavns Centrum.

The board meeting and the welcome reception for all participants on Sunday 17 May and the first full conference day, Monday 18 May, will be held at:

Politiken, Raadhuspladsen 37, 1550 Copenhagen V

On the second conference day, Tuesday 19 May, and for the business meeting Wednesday 20 May the venue will be:

TV 2 Danmark, Teglholm Allé 16, 2450 Copenhagen SV