Forty newsrooms celebrated the positive impact of professional journalism on their communities on World News Day, Saturday 28 September. In an age of misinformation, World News Day aims to raise public awareness of the critical role that newsrooms and journalists play in providing the public with credible and reliable news and views, to help people make sense of – and improve – the rapidly changing world around them.
World News Day was marked in Asia, Africa, and Europe by WAN-IFRA’s World Editors Forum on 28 September. This date coincided with UNESCO’s International Day for Access to Information. Participating newsrooms celebrated the day with special editorial content for their readers via their print and digital platforms, ranging from reports which exposed corruption and scams, to issues being neglected by society or systems not working to deliver services as well as insights on people and events shaping the course of current affairs.
They also promoted the day on social media and some sent out press releases and news alerts to their readers on their contributions and efforts. In Singapore, a public forum on the significance of real news and a special video show were also part of the activities. South Korea’s Chosun Ilbo picked up 36 of the 47 articles on World News Day for its own readers. Brazil’s Zero Hora newspaper carried a special report with content from several newsrooms – among them The Hindu, The Jakarta Post, China Daily, Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung, Times of India, The Bangkok Post, Mexico’s OEM (El Sol de Mexico) and an interview with The Straits Times’ editor-in-chief Warren Fernandez.
In Portugal, Publico carried reports on the issue of deepfakes to mark the day while several titles in Asia did their own editorial specials in print and online, including the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Viet Nam News, The Daily Star, and Sin Chew Daily, their publications included their own contributions, content from other newsrooms as well as commentaries on World News Day.
Asia News Network, an alliance of 24 news titles of which The Straits Times is a member, carried it as its top news highlight of the day. Many participating newsrooms and other stakeholders highlighted content on the WND website, which carries stories and videos of impact submitted by participating newsrooms.
In Singapore, WAN-IFRA’s World Editors Forum has partnered with the National Youth Achievement Award Council to hold a “Real News Matters: World News Day” journalism forum. More than 150 people also turned up for the forum at Singapore’s Institute of Technical Education (ITE) College Central, a career and technical education institute. A 30-minute talk show highlighted the legwork and effort that goes into producing credible content by newsrooms worldwide and the a difference it can make to the lives of people in different communities.
Speakers on the first panel, comprising regional editors from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and the Philippines attending an Asian Journalism Fellowship program in Singapore, shared their experience in covering conflicts in their countries. This was followed by a session on Fighting Fake News and a third session on stories that changed people’s lives. Participating newsrooms included the South China Morning Post, China Daily, JoongAng Ilbo, and both Malay and Chinese titles from Malaysia, together with The Straits Times.
