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Fighting for Press Freedom
Q&A with Advisory Board Member
Alison Bethel McKenzie has over 20 years of experience in journalism as a reporter, bureau chief, editor and trainer. From 1995-2000, she was senior assistant city editor at the Boston Globe, supervising a reporting staff that covered City Hall, urban affairs and transportation. In 2000, she joined the Detroit News as features editor, and then became the paper’s Washington, D.C. bureau chief from 2001-2006, overseeing coverage of the White House. She joined the Legal Times in Washington, D.C. in 2006 as executive editor, moving on in 2007 to the Nassau Guardian, in the Bahamas, as managing editor.
1. Which challenges do online media face in terms of press freedom?
Online media faces several challenges in terms of press freedom. Because its reach is so much vaster than media in its traditional format (newspaper, television and even radio) online media comes under greater scrutiny. Also, that greater reach is threatening to those who would hope to suppress free expression, I am afraid. Also complicating matters is the layperson’s lack of understanding of who online is a journalist and who is not. Most people are unable, or unwilling, to distinguish between an online journalist and bloggers. Governments and others are pointing to unethical and irresponsible behaviour online as a reason for censorship, and this is unacceptable.
2. Based on your expertise in the training of journalists, what do traditional journalists need if they want to be involved in the "Internet revolution"?
Well, we must remember that online media has existed for decades, well before the so-called "Internet Revolution" and, in fact, even before the launch of the World Wide Web. In fact, the Columbus Dispatch newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, USA had an online version since the 1980s. Many newspapers followed suit over the following decade. The two most important things for journalists online to remember is that the same Journalism Code of Ethics that they abide by when writing for traditional media - whether it’s radio, television or print - applies online as well and, secondly, that social media has to be used responsibly.
3. In your opinion, how do initiatives like the IPI News Innovation Contest promote the development of new media and strengthening of journalism?
The IPI News Innovation Contest will give a stronger voice (and a fighting chance) to those enterprises designed to assist journalists and the practice of journalism throughout the Middle East, Africa and Europe. It is my hope that through the contest, online media, and journalism in general will be strengthened in Europe, particularly in developing countries.
ALISON BETHEL MCKENZIE,
Executive Director, International Press Institute
Alison Bethel McKenzie has over 20 years of experience in journalism as a reporter, bureau chief, editor and trainer. From 1995-2000, she was senior assistant city editor at the Boston Globe, supervising a reporting staff that covered City Hall, urban affairs and transportation. In 2000, she joined the Detroit News as features editor, and then became the paper’s Washington, D.C. bureau chief from 2001-2006, overseeing coverage of the White House. She joined the Legal Times in Washington, D.C. in 2006 as executive editor, moving on in 2007 to the Nassau Guardian, in the Bahamas, as managing editor.
Before joining the International Press Institute (IPI) in August 2009, she spent a year in Accra, Ghana, for the Washington, D.C.-based International Center for Journalists, as a Knight International Journalism Fellow, helping Ghanaian journalists improve their reporting skills in the run-up to the 2008 presidential election.
