“Newsgathering has been hit by unprecedented challenges at a time when the whole news media info system was already under significant pressure,” says Antonio Zappulla, CEO of the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF). “Quite simply we are living in a different world than we were exactly 12 months ago.”

Zappulla’s remarks were made at an event to launch TRF’s new report on The Impact of COVID-19 on Journalism in Emerging Economies and the Global South, a study which explores the challenges faced by journalists around the world and how they’re navigating the difficulties of reporting in the COVID-era.

At the heart…

eSports is one of the world’s fastest growing tech and entertainment industries, with audiences and revenues alike on the rise. Although COVID-19 has inevitably had an impact, the global eSports market is expected to be worth nearly $1.6 billion in 2023 up from $776 million in 2018, according to researchers.

And although much of the growth is driven by major markets like North America and China, the Middle East is also playing a role in the eSports boom.

“The Middle East is a fast-growing gaming market, evolving from casual gaming to virtual reality games and competitive sports. With a growing…

Will Church, Head of Journalism and Media Programmes at the Thomson Reuters Foundation (TRF), and I, joined Ian Williams of the Foreign Press Association USA to discuss the new TRF report on The impact of COVID-19 on Journalism in Emerging Economies and the Global South.

Across the world, the virus has affected media as well as the health of journalists. The pandemic has driven fake news and evoked a surge of threats against the media in emerging economies.

Sent out to cover the epidemic, hundreds of our colleagues have died, others have been threatened by governments and proprietors for reporting…

The MENA region is in the middle of a digital transformation, which 2020 and COVID-19 has only accelerated. I asked five experts to share the tech trends they see influencing the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) this year, with digital payments, greater investment in AI and mobile, coupled with the need for greater focus on cybersecurity, all getting a mention.

A look into big projects ahead

Among the things to look out for on the Middle East tech scene in 2021 is the Expo 2020 event, which is due to take place in Dubai in the UAE for six months starting from October says Matthew…

A new report containing the voices of journalists working across the Global South and Emerging Economies, highlighting the challenges faced by the profession during the pandemic, is released today by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

It is the first such study combining in-depth research into the insights of industry leaders, advocates and media experts with the first-hand experiences of reporters on-the-ground in these regions, to explore the major issues impacting the profession.

The 55 contributing journalists, who are alumni of the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s training programmes, are from 26 countries including Nigeria, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Romania and the Philippines. Their insights…

2020. What a year!

Despite all the challenges and new ways of doing things, it was still possible to get lots of interesting things done. Here is a quick summary:

Public Engagement

• 145 Media Mentions and Interviews
• 13 Conference Panels and Workshops

Creative Work

• 86 articles
• 8 podcasts

Research

• 3 new research reports published
• 136 citations

• 1 Faculty Innovation Research Award

Teaching and Service

• 6 classes taught
• 4 campus visits co-ordinated — including 4 public talks (all recorded), 12 class visits, 806 students and members of the public engaged face-to-face, 4 TV studio interviews and 4 podcasts.
• 1 board joined: KLCC Public Radio Foundation
• 1 Fellowship: Fellow, Career Readiness CAIT (Communities…

This post follows on from several earlier round-ups, bringing together my work from the past year in terms of applied research, media business and revenue models, changing journalistic practice, social media and tech in the Middle East and media and other forms of public engagement (e.g. conference panels and workshops).

Articles (most recent first)

1. ZDNet: Middle East tech: Nine proven ways to unlock the region’s startup scene
2. What’s New In Publishing: Why podcasting is on the rise: 8 trends publishers cannot ignore
3. ZDNet: From mobile money to blockchain: How this UN agency’s tech stops people starving (also translated and published by ZDNet.fr)
4. What’s…

This post follows on from several earlier round-ups, bringing together my work from the past year in terms of, pubic scholarship and engagement, applied research, media business and revenue models, changing journalistic practice and social media and tech in the Middle East,

Demystifying Media Series