{"id":20951,"date":"2025-09-25T10:26:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T10:26:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/?post_type=news&#038;p=20951"},"modified":"2025-09-25T12:38:23","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T12:38:23","slug":"m20article","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/news\/m20article\/","title":{"rendered":"Charting the future of media and journalism: Reflections from M20 and CTRL+J in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">This blog was authored by Giovana Fleck, Policy Advisor Media &amp; Human Rights, who represented RNW Media at the Media20 Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Who controls the future of journalism? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><strong>What possible futures can we, collective, envision? And who gets to control it?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Over the course of a week in Johannesburg, South Africa, RNW Media joined dozens of delegates from all over the world to discuss and offer answers for those guiding questions. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-center is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-23441af8 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/media20.org\/events\/summit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Media20 Summit<\/a>, organised by the <a href=\"https:\/\/sanef.org.za\/\">South African National Editors\u2019 Forum (SANEF)<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediamonitoringafrica.org\/\">Media Monitoring Africa (MMA<\/a>), defined the priorities within the media sector amidst the G20 presidency of South Africa in 2025. A first of its kind, the M20 contributed to setting the agenda for issues concerning media, building on the momentum from the Brazilian presidency in 2024, which opened the way for discussing<a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.br\/planalto\/en\/latest-news\/2024\/05\/brasil-leads-dialogues-on-information-integrity-and-platform-regulation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> information integrity and platform regulation<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized is-style-rounded wp-container-content-9cfa9a5a\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-right:0;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1153\" height=\"1154\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-4-edited.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20954\" style=\"width:204px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-4-edited.jpeg 1153w, https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-4-edited-300x300.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-4-edited-1024x1024.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-4-edited-150x150.jpeg 150w, https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-4-edited-768x769.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1153px) 100vw, 1153px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What\u2019s information integrity? \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Maintaining the integrity of information means that media ecosystems carry accurate, reliable and trustworthy information. It involves ensuring that information is factually based, consistent, and not subjected to corruption or manipulation. It also includes maintaining the well-being of those who contribute to the information landscape, prioritising a human-rights centred approach. You can learn more about it by reading RNW Media\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/resources\/joint-statement-prioritizing-funding-for-information-integrity-in-the-eu-and-beyond\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">joint statement<\/a> on the role of the EU on safeguarding information integrity.<s> <\/s><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Eight different <a href=\"https:\/\/media20.org\/policy-briefs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">policy briefs<\/a>, each addressing a different challenge faced by media globally, informed the discussions at the event. After two days of deliberations, the M20 Summit concluded with the launch of the <a href=\"https:\/\/media20.org\/2025\/09\/02\/m20-johannesburg-declaration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Johannesburg Declaration<\/a>, a \u201ccall for significant steps to ensure that independent journalism and media pluralism are strengthened and information integrity is secured.\u201d The declaration calls on G20 leaders to commit strategy and resources to support a diverse, plural and viable media landscape, while protecting journalism and journalists. Together with over 50 newsrooms and media organisations, RNW Media contributed to and endorsed the declaration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>CTRL+J\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Shaped as a series of conversations about the future of journalism, CTRL+J is an idea that started as a provocation for how to build more solidarity and exchange knowledge based on experiences from the Global Majority. With a South-to-South approach, we gathered immediately after M20, building on the momentum from the previous convening to focus on collaboration for a safer and more inclusive media landscape. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/nanjira\/?originalSubdomain=ke\">Nanjira Sambuli<\/a>, Scholar at Carnegie Endowment for International, started her keynote speech with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote has-medium-font-size\" style=\"border-radius:0px\"><blockquote><p><strong>\u201cNarratives are about invisible power, when people determine what is right and what&#8217;s wrong\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Nanjira calls this a \u201ctyranny of now\u201d, where the media landscape has never seen more means of communication and an information overload, but we find ourselves discouraged to focus on context or historical information. Technology operates in autocratic ways when it governs our autonomy to decide how to consume information. \u201cWhen do we find time to be critical? What does it mean<s>s<\/s> to truly own our narrative when it feels like we are always reacting?\u201d, she asked.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized is-style-rounded\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"432\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-3-edited.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20956 lazyload\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 768px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 768\/432;width:800px;height:auto\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-3-edited.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Image-3-edited-300x169.jpeg 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">Giovana Fleck and Boris van Westering at the M20 Summit<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Ultimately, disinformation and misinformation stem<s>s<\/s> from individualisation. At CTRL+J, we built and practiced solidarity with each other, collaborating and finding new avenues to engage. \u201cFind your people\u201d, said Paula Miraglia, founder and CEO of Momentum &#8211; Journalism &amp; Tech Task Force. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">These efforts to forge a common ground amidst these challenging times will continue, as we look forward to the next edition of CTRL+J in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in November 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>RNW Media joined global delegates at the Media20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, where the Johannesburg Declaration was launched to strengthen independent journalism and safeguard information integrity. Building on this momentum, we also took part in CTRL+J, a South-to-South dialogue fostering solidarity and inclusion in the future of media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":20959,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20951","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/20951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rnw.media\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}