WITH rapid changes occurring locally and around the world in various sectors, there is need for media workers, particularly journalists, to adapt so that they can become better informed and can make a meaningful contribution to the development of the profession.

This was highlighted during the recently concluded two-day World Press Freedom Day Conference and Symposium held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre. Dozens of media workers from across the country took part in the inaugural event on May 3 and 4, 2022.

During a panel discussion held on the final day under the title, “Development of media and media workers in a rapidly changing landscape,” several veterans in the field, among others, spoke of the drastic changes that have taken place over the years.

Gordon Moseley, journalist and founder of News Source; Neaz Subhan, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Communications Network (NCN); Dr Vibert Cambridge, professor at the University of Ohio who joined virtually and Alven Roosveldt, Director of Communication Service of Suriname, delivered opening remarks before fielding questions.

After noting that lots of changes within the media have occurred over the years, Moseley said he was continuously encouraging fellow journalists to embrace them and adapt in order to be “in the know.”

Moseley said: “I listened to the President’s speech yesterday [May 3] and he spoke about so much [that] is happening that you might not be able to report all, but that tells you that our job becomes much more important, because we then have to keep focus on all that’s happening and to report on those development issues.”

To this end, he noted that, as the country continued to move forward with all the drastic developments that were taking place, media workers must put themselves in a position to be better informed to further relay that information to their respective audiences.

NCN’s CEO later stated that, with the various changes over the years, the general public’s expectation has also changed. To support this point, Subhan explained that most persons expect to have their news in the fastest time possible.

On that note, he added, “All of us with a phone in our hand and internet, we can be able to bring whatever the situation is to a viewing audience, whether it’s small or large, but we can do that and given the power of sharing on social media, depending on what the content is, information gets around very, very quickly.”

Subhan reiterated some of the comments made by President Irfaan Ali in his feature address during the opening ceremony and later noted that lots more work will have to be done based on the current transformation and what is likely to come.

Meanwhile, Dr. Cambridge highlighted the need for the training of media workers and stated that the curriculum for their development must be quick and responsive to both global and domestic landscapes.

The training, he said must further facilitate development of competencies in research among other things and further develop soft skills like empathy, facilitation and coordination.

The professor then took the time to recognise the University of Guyana’s Master Degree programmes which were launched in May 2021.

He said: “There are three specialisations in strategic communication, social change, communication, and visual communication. These specialisations recognise the centrality of communication for development in nation building.”

He went on to say that as the conversation about fostering development among media workers develops, these new programmes must be part of the mix.