What the truth actually is? Which one is The Truth? Philosophical? Ideological? Moral? Legal? Objective? Subjective? Can "seeking the truth" be a universal guiding principle of journalism? I addressed these questions in my presentation at the 1st Eastern Partnership Media Conference in Riga, May 20, 2015.

1. Tatiana Repkova
Founder
The factors impacting on the
development of professional media
in the EaP countries
1st Eastern Partnership Media Conference
ROLE OF MEDIA IN THE EASTERN PARTNERSHIP

2. The factors impacting on the development of professional media
© Tatiana Repkova 2015
Democratization, incl. the political
regime and society’s needs and
expectations
Digital media revolution (profound
changes in communication
patterns and channels, incl. social
media)
Propaganda, disinformation,
information war
War in Donbass
Journalists skills and expertise,
and professional media
management
Internal
Strengths/Weaknesses
External
Opportunities/Threats

3. The factors impacting on the development of professional media
© Tatiana Repkova 2015
Democratization, incl. the political
regime and society’s needs and
expectations
Digital media revolution (profound
changes in communication
patterns and channels, incl. social
media)
Propaganda, disinformation,
information war
War in Donbass
Journalists skills and expertise,
and professional media
management
Internal
Strengths/Weaknesses
External
Opportunities/Threats
What all the 5 groups of factors have in common?

4. The factors impacting on the development of professional media
© Tatiana Repkova 2015
Democratization, incl. the political
regime and society’s needs and
expectations
Digital media revolution (profound
changes in communication
patterns and channels, incl. social
media)
Propaganda, disinformation,
information war
War in Donbass
Journalists skills and expertise,
and professional media
management
Internal
Strengths/Weaknesses
External
Opportunities/Threats
What all the 5 groups of factors have in common?
Dealing with truth

5. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
What is the truth?

6. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
What is the truth?
 Logical: true/false

7. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
What is the truth?
 Logical: true/false  Philosophical (absolute): God’s
truth? Christian? Hindu? Muslim?
Other?

8. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
What is the truth?
 Logical: true/false
In journalistic practice, a truth
should be perceived rather as
precision of facts
 Philosophical (absolute): God’s
truth? Christian? Hindu? Muslim?
Other?

9. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
What is the truth?
 Logical: true/false
In journalistic practice, a truth
should be perceived rather as
precision of facts
Is it?
 Philosophical (absolute): God’s
truth? Christian? Hindu? Muslim?
Other?

10. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
blog.sina.com.cn
“There are two types of truth. One is moral
truth and the other is legalistic truth.”
“Working for a tabloid is not about telling
the moral truth but to give the best possible
account that you are able to give in a
situation by sticking to the legal truth as
much as possible but leaving out the
inconvenient truths.”
Richard Peppiatt
Ex-reporter at Daily Star
Comedian of One Rogue
Reporter, UK
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

11. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
“Never before have I experienced such a
feeling of futility of the struggle for truth,
which is visible to the naked eye, and yet
so many people do not see it. And I do not
mean the ideological truth, but the
simple one, which can be verified by just
using common sense.”
blog.sina.com.cn
respekt.ihned.cz
Martin Milan Simecka
Editor, Respekt weekly
Czech Republic
“There are two types of truth. One is moral
truth and the other is legalistic truth.”
“Working for a tabloid is not about telling
the moral truth but to give the best possible
account that you are able to give in a
situation by sticking to the legal truth as
much as possible but leaving out the
inconvenient truths.”
Richard Peppiatt
Ex-reporter at Daily Star
Comedian of One Rogue
Reporter, UK
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

12. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
“Journalism does not pursue
truth in an absolute or
philosophical sense, but it can –
and must – pursue it in a
practical sense.”
http://www.journalism.org/resources/principles-of-journalism
Principles of Journalism
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

13. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
What is the truth?
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
spiegel.de
 Logical: true/false
In journalistic practice, a truth
should be perceived rather as
precision of facts
Is it?
 Philosophical (absolute): God’s
truth? Christian? Hindu? Muslim?
Other?

14. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
What is the truth?
 Logical: true/false
In journalistic practice, a truth
should be perceived rather as
precision of facts
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
 Philosophical (absolute): God’s
truth? Christian? Hindu? Muslim?
Other?
 Moral vs. Legal (Richard Peppiatt)
 Ideological vs. Simple (Martin
Simecka)
 Practical (Pew Research Center)
 Objective vs. subjective
spiegel.de

15. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
What is the truth?
 Logical: true/false
In journalistic practice, a truth
should be perceived rather as
precision of facts
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
Margarita Simonyan
Editor-in-chief
“There is no objectivity – only
approximations of the truth by as
many different voices as possible.”
 Philosophical (absolute): God’s
truth? Christian? Hindu? Muslim?
Other?
 Moral vs. Legal (Richard Peppiatt)
 Ideological vs. Simple (Martin
Simecka)
 Practical (Pew Research Center)
 Objective vs. subjective
spiegel.de

16. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Using the word “truth” across nations and cultures
leads to Babylon
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

17. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Using the word “truth” across nations and cultures
leads to Babylon
Nowadays, the Babylon is more confusing
than ever, due to 3 more factors:
 Information explosion and overload
 Everybody can be a journalist
 Propaganda, disinformation, information
war
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

18. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Using the word “truth” across nations and cultures
leads to Babylon
“The idea that there are
multiple interpretations of the truth has
become the founding philosophy of state
disinformation in Putin’s Russia, designed to
confuse those who would seek out the truth
with multiple expressions of distracting PR
chaff.”
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
Nowadays, the Babylon is more confusing
than ever, due to 3 more factors:
 Information explosion and overload
 Everybody can be a journalist
 Propaganda, disinformation, information
war

19. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Professional journalism:
Labels “truth” and “objectivity” not needed
Truthful?
 Precision of facts
Objective?
 Balanced
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
New Times: Making a Professional Newspaper in an Emerging Democracy, p. 22

20. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Professional journalism:
Labels “truth” and “objectivity” not needed
Truthful?
 Precision of facts
Objective?
 Balanced
New Times: Making a Professional Newspaper in an Emerging Democracy, p. 22
The factors impacting on the development of professional media
Professional journalism may be the best counter-propaganda

21. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Readers do not always want an independent voice
ejo.ch
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

22. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Readers do not always want an independent voice
Galina Timchenko
Executive Editor
ejo.ch
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

23. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Readers do not always want an independent voice
Galina Timchenko
Executive Editor
ejo.ch
“Much of the audience would like to see us as
freedom fighters rather than journalists.”
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

24. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Readers do not always want an independent voice
Galina Timchenko
Executive Editor
“… our Russian readers have been known to
scold us for calling the fighters in the Donetsk
Republic ‘separatists’ as opposed to rebels or
militia men.”
ejo.ch
“Much of the audience would like to see us as
freedom fighters rather than journalists.”
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

25. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Readers do not always want an independent voice
Galina Timchenko
Executive Editor
“… our Russian readers have been known to
scold us for calling the fighters in the Donetsk
Republic ‘separatists’ as opposed to rebels or
militia men.”
“Ukrainian readers, on the other hand, wish that
we’d call them militants or terrorists.”
ejo.ch
“Much of the audience would like to see us as
freedom fighters rather than journalists.”
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

26. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Readers do not always want an independent voice
Galina Timchenko
Executive Editor
“… our Russian readers have been known to
scold us for calling the fighters in the Donetsk
Republic ‘separatists’ as opposed to rebels or
militia men.”
“Ukrainian readers, on the other hand, wish that
we’d call them militants or terrorists.”
“Sometimes even stating a last name in the
headline – such as Navalny or Khodorkovsky
– leads some readers to believe that we support
them if we choose to write about them.”
ejo.ch
“Much of the audience would like to see us as
freedom fighters rather than journalists.”
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

27. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

28. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
Serhii Guz
Editor-in-Chief
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
Our Reporter
Weekly newspaper
Dneprodzerzhinsk
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

29. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
Serhii Guz
Editor-in-Chief
“If publishing a point of view of a representative of the
DNR, our secret services could qualify it as a
separatist propaganda.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
Our Reporter
Weekly newspaper
Dneprodzerzhinsk
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

30. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
Serhii Guz
Editor-in-Chief
“If publishing a point of view of a representative of the
DNR, our secret services could qualify it as a
separatist propaganda.”
“Many readers, relatively 'pro-Ukrainian', do not like
stories that criticize the army or volunteer
fighters.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
Our Reporter
Weekly newspaper
Dneprodzerzhinsk
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

31. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
Serhii Guz
Editor-in-Chief
“If publishing a point of view of a representative of the
DNR, our secret services could qualify it as a
separatist propaganda.”
“Many readers, relatively 'pro-Ukrainian', do not like
stories that criticize the army or volunteer
fighters.”
“Federalism ended up in the category of ‘dangerous’
topics.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
Our Reporter
Weekly newspaper
Dneprodzerzhinsk
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

32. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
Serhii Guz
Editor-in-Chief
“If publishing a point of view of a representative of the
DNR, our secret services could qualify it as a
separatist propaganda.”
“Many readers, relatively 'pro-Ukrainian', do not like
stories that criticize the army or volunteer
fighters.”
“Federalism ended up in the category of ‘dangerous’
topics.”
“… not talking about the articles on how military
commissariats are used for political persecution.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
Our Reporter
Weekly newspaper
Dneprodzerzhinsk
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

33. © Tatiana Repkova 2015
Seeking professional balance
in covering the war in Donbass
Serhii Guz
Editor-in-Chief
“If publishing a point of view of a representative of the
DNR, our secret services could qualify it as a
separatist propaganda.”
“Many readers, relatively 'pro-Ukrainian', do not like
stories that criticize the army or volunteer
fighters.”
“Federalism ended up in the category of ‘dangerous’
topics.”
“… not talking about the articles on how military
commissariats are used for political persecution.”
https://www.facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS/
“Remaining silent about all these topics is also
impossible, even in conditions of actual censorship.”
Our Reporter
Weekly newspaper
Dneprodzerzhinsk
The factors impacting on the development of professional media

34. Таtiana Repkova
Founder
mediamanagersclub.org
trepkova@mediamanagersclub.org
slideshare.net/trepkova | Twitter @trepkova
Thank you for attention!
© Tatiana Repkova 2015
facebook.com/mediamanagersclub
facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.HOWTOIDEAS
facebook.com/groups/mediamanagersclub.RUS
The factors impacting on the development of professional media