People gathered in a cafe where they drink tea and coffee and use and discuss social media communications with friend and family who have gone abroad.
IMS Annual report 2016 – 2017: Assault on journalism and freedom of expression
Pushing norms and standards in politics, conflict and media to new extremes, leaders in every region of the world in 2016 and continuing into 2017 consolidated and expanded their powers at the expense of freedom and democracy.
From armed conflict and forced migration to the spread of misinformation and the rise of right-wing populism, the chaotic and disheartening developments of the year in many ways marked the new frontiers of global repression and inequality.
From footage of Syria’s horror to every minute detail of the US presidential election relayed on social media, the year displayed vividly the increased global connectedness of people and communities as technology continued to influence news and information and the way it is produced, regulated and repressed.
In this context, the year also saw journalism facing a crisis of a fundamental nature spurred on by technological advancement, political power play and global inequality — a crisis that challenges basic notions of truth, relevance and trust.
IMS’ 2016 – 2017 report is devoted to these topics — to exploring how journalism can remain relevant in an age of post-truth no matter which part of the world we are in, and to examine what trust in media entails and how to rebuild and maintain it.
In that sense, this year’s IMS Annual Report takes a different approach from that of previous years by focusing more generally on the current trends and challenges facing our industry of media development.
