October 2017 Newsletter
Welcome to IBT’s October newsletter with an update on our work and relevant news from the media industry. (Download/Print this Newsletter)
This month’s briefing with BuzzFeed
Later this month we’ll be hearing from Alan White, news editor at BuzzFeed UK. Alan will be talking about how BuzzFeed works, its ‘test and learn’ approach to online video, which has enabled it to become a major player in online news and entertainment. He’ll also tell us the sort of international stories he’s looking for and how best to pitch ideas to him and his colleagues. This event will take place at 10am on Wednesday October 25th at our offices in Southwark. Registration is via the IBT website in the usual way.
More on BuzzFeed
If you want to read more about BuzzFeed, this blog, written by Prue Watson, social media manager at NSPCC, looks at how to be successful on Facebook and the disruptive influence of BuzzFeed. She concludes that other brands have been slow to pick up on the phenomenal success of BuzzFeed, with is 9 billion monthly content views.
Last month’s briefing with Vice News
Last month, Neil Breakwell, London Bureau Chief of Vice News, told us how Vice News is evolving, with its various outlets, now including a nightly news show for HBO, Vice News Tonight. Vice does not follow a traditional news agenda and searches out international stories that mainstream media are neglecting, or looks for new angles on running stories. Neil is keen to hear from NGOs about stories they have in several countries where he will be deploying crews in the near future. See our briefing note on the members’ page of our website for more details.
CEO dinner
In November we will be holding our annual dinner for CEOs from our member organisations. The guest speaker will be John Ryley, Head of Sky News. This is a small, informal networking event, giving NGO and media leaders the chance to meet and share insights. It is open to all CEOs. This year’s dinner will take place on Tuesday November 7th. If you’d like to attend and have not already let me know, please get in touch.
IBT members’ survey
Many thanks to all those who returned our members’ survey. Our Trustees are currently drawing up our new strategy for 2018-20 and this feedback has been invaluable. We want to ensure that our research, briefings, training and other events are meeting your needs and that IBT membership remains good value for money. The annual membership fee which your organization pays enables us to organize these events, publish research and continue with our advocacy work. We always welcome feedback, so please do get in touch if you have any suggestions for future briefings or research.
Fake News
Our next research report will look at fake news and the implications for civil society. Much has been written already about the phenomenon of ‘fake news’ but this report will focus on the lessons for NGOs. If you have any direct experience of fake news, trolling or views on the issue of trust, do please get in touch. The report will be published in January.
Unreported World screening and debate
Next week Channel 4 and One World Media will co-host a panel debate, A Perfect Storm: How do we decide which disasters to cover? They will also screen an upcoming episode of Unreported World in which reporter Seyi Rhodes travels to Sierra Leone to report on August’s mudslide, which killed several hundred people. The debate asks why this received so little coverage compared to floods in the US and hurricanes in the Caribbean. The event will take place at 6pm on Thursday October 12th.
Film Africa
Film Africa, the annual London film festival which showcases the best African cinema, is back. This year there will be screenings of more than 30 films, with many premieres. The festival opens on Friday October 27th with the South African feature, The Wound, and closes on Sunday November 5th with the Tunisian film, Foreign Body. Documentaries include Winnie, a retelling of the story of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, featuring interviews with Winnie, her family and friends.
Best wishes
Mark
