Global Voices Online: New Media Forum benefits Georgia
Print version 
Last week Georgia Today published a story about Media Forum, an event that took place last week in Mtatsminda Park. This week we offer an interview with Onnik Krikorian, a British-Armenian journalist and photographer based in Armenia, the Caucasus editor for Global Voices Online, and the Armenia editor for Oneworld.net. During the New Media Forum he presented the Global Voices Web site and talked about the importance of new media in the Caucasus.
Georgia Today: How important are such events for Georgia and the world in general?
A: I think it is incredibly important and for two reasons. Firstly, in regions such as the South Caucasus, there are few opportunities for communication between bloggers and journalists even though new media technologies actually allow that now. Even so, meeting in person is incredibly important as well as communicating online.
With regards to the New Media Forum as well as last years Bar Camp, such events also allow people to share ideas, new technologies, and expertise something which is vital if both traditional and new media is to evolve, and develop. Plus, it allows others to introduce the latest developments in an ever-changing world.
Q: How would you rate this particular seminar in Tbilisi?
A: Unfortunately, because it was mainly held in Georgian, it is hard for me to give you a concrete answer to that question. However, from what I saw, it was a very positive development to present the latest online trends and developments to journalists. The media is changing worldwide and will eventually do so here as well.
What is important is to be aware of these new developments in the traditional as well as citizen media fields to adapt and adopt them sooner rather than later. In that sense, I was pleased to see a high level of interest from the media in attendance.
Q: How important is the role of the new media, for example of blogs and Global Voices as one of the examples in the modern society? What impact does it make?
A: It is probably wrong to consider it as the only form of media worth appreciating. Actually, I consider that new media is just something which is an evolution of the old. New tools have been developed which provide unprecedented opportunities to everyone. Some in the media might see that as a threat, but it also can form the basis for new sources of information for journalists.
Situated in Armenia and unable to travel to Azerbaijan, for example, new media has opened up the Caucasus for me now. I am able to receive alternative information from Azerbaijan and my friends there can receive alternative, non-politicized news from Armenia as well as use tools such as Skype to hold interviews, for example.
I think we have also seen how the use of tools in countries such as Iran were indispensable for the mainstream media, even if it still has to be filtered to avoid misinformation and propaganda. We have also seen that in other countries, including the U.K., during the 2005 London bombings.
However, these are just two examples and there are many more, often overlooked by the mainstream media. And that is where Global Voices Online comes in amplifying and translating these new voices and information resources which otherwise might be overlooked or ignored.
Q: What would you advise people in the journalism field and who want to pursue the new media space but are making the first steps towards the goal?
A: Well, do not expect too much or consider these tools to be something that seem obvious from the outset. For example, when I first saw Twitter in July last year I thought it was stupid and had no place in professional media. Since then, however, I have seen it in action and now understand its worth.
In fact, in some cases I have managed to write stories with information from reliable Twitter sources. The same is true for live video reporting from mobile. The quality might be significantly less than professional digital video, but the potential is there for reporting by anyone, anywhere and at anytime.
In Armenia, with the main opposition television station taken off the air in 2002, this is particularly the case. Now they use live reporting via mobile. Not ideal, but without it they could do even less. Mobile phone reporting is also something that has become vital in countries in Africa and I can see the potential in the regions of countries in the South Caucasus.
Besides, the technology will evolve. In fact, consider it the same as the first personal computers. To begin with they were bulky and lacking in power capability. Each year, however, the technology not only evolves with more power packed into a smaller size, but it also becomes cheaper. This empowers everyone journalists and citizens alike.
Story by David Lobzhanidze
23.10.2009 |
