AMMAN (JT) – The future of Arab media will be the main topic of discussion at the fourth annual Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism (ARIJ) conference, which opens on Friday.
Arab and international journalists will debate the importance of in-depth reporting at the three-day conference “as media around the world is undergoing… a revolution of data-driven journalism”, according to an ARIJ statement.
“The contribution of investigative journalism to accountability, development and democracy is now well recognised, and it has never been more important,” the statement quoted David Kaplan, one of conference’s keynote speakers, as saying.
In addition to Kaplan, a media consultant and expert in investigative journalism, keynote speakers include veteran journalists Yosri Fouda from Egypt and Ahmed Benchamsi from Morocco.
The statement quoted Sweden’s Ambassador to Jordan Charlotta Sparre as saying that “only countries that have a plural and free expression of opinions can truly be called democratic”.
“And investigative journalism, with its questioning of established truths and exposure of wrong-doing, has a particularly important role in bringing about the core principle of a democracy: accountability,” she said.
Over 250 journalists, editors and media professors from 22 countries will take part in the conference, which “offers a rare opportunity for journalists who have worked through ARIJ… to share tools of their trade to inspire their Arab and Western colleagues”, the statement said.
ARIJ, which is a media support network promoting investigative journalism in nine Arab countries, will hold its fifth and sixth conferences in Tunisia and Egypt respectively, according to the statement.