In addition to looking at the organisational highlights of the past 12 months, the report also looks to the future, underlining the pivotal moment the media industry currently finds itself in and how imminent decisions could have significant consequences for the coming years.
“A new chapter in Impress’ story is commencing, reshaping our relationships with stakeholders, including government and the public,” Impress Chair Caron Bradshaw OBE writes in the report.
“We’re expanding what Impress does, amending how we support and preserve ethical journalism, tackling some of the biggest challenges of our generation and building our profile so that Impress’ skills, knowledge and voice can be used effectively, long into the future.”
The report focuses on three key themes: Information harm spreading in ever-evolving news ecosystems; Trust economics collapsing in news as the sustainability cliff-edge grows ever nearer; and the lack of transnational media regulation enabling authoritarianism globally.
Impress says each section looks at the practical steps it has taken to improve the media and information ecosystem.
These steps include continuing to independently regulate news; the introduction of the Dis/Mis Podcast; Impress’ best practice note on using AI in journalism; and, of course, the production of its new training course – Creating Ethical Media and Journalism.
Whilst looking to the future, Impress Chief Executive Lexie Kirkconnell-Kawana shared how Impress is adapting to suit a rapidly-evolving media landscape.
“A lesson the independent media sector and civil society continue to learn through adversity is that we cannot rely on any single dependency to survive and subsequently thrive in this rapidly evolving landscape,” she wrote.
“Impress began its diversification strategy in earnest this year. We launched our Alternative Dispute Resolution products against a backdrop of rising court costs and broader justice reform. We continued to develop our accreditation programme in partnership with Innovate UK and the University of Huddersfield to address the need for continuing professional development among journalists.
“The balance of our work is shifting. Rather than processing a steady stream of complaints, functioning as an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff attending to journalism failures, we are devoting considerably more time to producing guidance, best practice resources, and working directly with publishers before publication to help them navigate ethical complexities.”
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