09:00-10:30: Keynote and welcome

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen, 2nd floor

• Jean-Christophe Delmas (Norwegian Helsinki Committee), opens the event.
• Jørgen Watne Frydnes (PEN Norway, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee), will provide the keynote address on the state of press freedom in Norway and the EU.
• Anna Gabriele Striethorst (Senior Sector Officer, Financial Mechanism Office), says a few words on the role the EEA Grants are playing in supporting journalism in Europe.

10:30-11:00: Coffee break

11:00-12:30: Freedom of the press in Europe

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen Hødden, 2nd floor

In this session we’ll go through the state of the media sector, while honing in on how SLAPPs (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) are increasingly used to intimidate and silence journalists across Europe.

Moderator: Jørgen Watne Frydnes

• Journalist and President of the European Federation of Journalists, Maja Sever, gives an overview of the state of freedom of the press and the role of trade unions in preserving it.
• Joanna Szymańska, Head of Europe Office (Article 19) gives an introduction to EU Anti-SLAPP Directive and the Council of Europe recommendations
• Nawojka Ciborska, Activist (Last Generation, Poland) was the target of a SLAPP for her climate activism. Nawojka shares how she fought back.

Buffet served in common area

13:30-15:00: Parallel Sessions

Going above and beyond: what role for civic media?

Meeting room: Galgebakken, 4th floor

The emergence of “civic media” over the past decade has sparked curiosity and debate, particularly as it blurs the lines between news media and non-governmental organizations.

Moderator: Mirna Šmit (Community Foundation Slagalica, Croatia)

• Even Skyrud, Writer for Erlik Oslo, talks about the incredible impact the street magazine has had on Oslo’s rough-sleepers.
• Krzysztof Jakubowski, Founder and president of the board of Freedom Foundation (jawnylublin.pl, Poland), a local watchdog organisation, will talk through his work and the civic media trend.

The magic of audio storytelling

Meeting room: Tårnplass, 4th floor

The enduring and growing impact of sound in media is the focus of this session, featuring some of the most innovative audio storytelling projects.

Moderator: Agnieszka Lichnerowicz (TOK FM Radio, Poland)

• Tiril Solvang, Journalist (NRK, Oppdatert), shares the recipe behind Norway’s leading news podcast.
• Hilde Sandvik, Journalist (Broen.xyz) and podcast host at “Norsken Svensken og Dansken“, tells all about running a multilingual podcast, badged as badged as “Pan-Scandinavian couples therapy”.
• From The Europeans Podcast, Wojciech Oleksiak  (The Europeans), shares how his show works to make European affairs accessible and engaging.

15:00-15:30: Coffee Break

15:30-16:30: Self-regulation and journalism ethics in Norway

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen Hødden, 2nd floor

Norwegian news media has a unique model of self-regulation, one where outlets, journalists and trade unions, work together to ensure high ethical standards and trust in the media remains high.

• Session hosted by Simona Constantinescu (Civil Society Development Foundation, Romania) in dialogue with Eva Stabell on the critical role of trade unions in supporting journalists and maintaining ethical standards.
• Eva Stabell (Norwegian Union of Journalists) will discuss the critical role of trade unions in supporting journalists and maintaining ethical standards. She will also cover the relationship between politicians and the media, and discuss the all-important Vær varsom (“be attentive”) charter.

The dialogue will open up to the audience, inviting participants to share their experiences on national platforms that support journalists in their countries.

18:00-19:00: Dinner

A dinner buffet will be served at Media City Bergen from 18:00 – 18:55.

19:00: “The Killing of a Journalist”: screening and panel discussion

Screening of the documentary movie “The Killing of a Journalist” (2022) at Media City Bergen (Atlantis movie theatre), will begin at 19:00.

Join us for the screening of the critically acclaimed documentary “The Killing of a Journalist” about the killing of Slovak journalist, Jan Kuciak, followed by a panel discussion featuring former colleagues of Jan Kuciak

Moderator: Gabriel Schembri – Communications coordinator and writer (SOS Malta)

• Karolina Farská – Journalist from the Investigative Center of Jan Kuciak
• Annamária Dömeová – Former colleague of Jan Kuciak
  Reflecting on Jan Kuciak’s legacy and the impact of his work.

09:00-10:30: Disinformation from the local to the geopolitical

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen Hødden, 2nd floor

Disinformation is nothing new, but since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has truly blossomed. This session will look at some of its surprising and pernicious manifestations.

Moderator: Victor Breiner, (Institute for Resilience Building, Slovakia)

• Morten Langfeldt Dahlback (Faktisk.no), from Norway’s leading factchecker, exposes the proliferation of malicious, fake local media, set up to manipulate public discouse.
• Amund Trellevik (Barents Press) shares insights from the far North of Norway, where proximity to the Russian border presents unique challenges for journalists.

10:30-11:00: Coffee Break

11:00-12:30: The EU Parliament election debriefing

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen Hødden, 2nd floor

Fresh out of the election, we delve into the narratives and outcomes, with a particular focus on the media’s role.

Moderator: Jean-Christophe Delmas (Norwegian Helsinki Committee)

• Lise Rye, Professor of Contemporary European History (NTNU), provides an overarching analysis of the EU election results, identifying trends and their relevance.
• Arun Chaudhary, Filmmaker, former creative director for the Obama campaigns and Bernie Sanders campaigns, and now a leading progressive campaigner in Europe shares his efforts to combat the rise of the far-right.
• How do local newspapers cover the elections that historically receive the least reader attention? Răzvan Chiruță, Editor-in-Chief of Presshub from Romania, provides insights.

Buffet served in common area

13:30-15:00: Parallel Sessions

Datajournalism for local journalism

Meeting room: Tårnplass, 4th floor

Explore how data journalism supports local reporting and storytelling with practical examples from Norway and Hungary.

Moderator: Dominika Sitnicka (Journalist, OKO.press)

• Øivind Skjervheim, data journalist (Landslanget for Lokalaviser), shares insights from the “Samarbeidsdesken”, an initiative by 70 local newspapers in Norway to create a common data journalism resource.
• Data journalists Lasse Lambrechts and Philipp Bock (Bergens Tidende), present their award-winning story “Three shots in Ibsensgate” which uses 3D modelling in an unprecedented way.
• Zsuzsanna Wirth (Direkt36, Hungary), presents her yearlong investigation into the systemic coverup of hospital-acquired infections in Hungarian hospitals.

Investigative journalism for the environment

Meeting room: Galgebakken, 4th floor

Norway has emerged as a hub for climate and environmental journalism, with us to discuss how are some of best practitioners at both the national and local level.

Moderator: Per Christian Magnus (Center for Investigative Journalism, University of Bergen)

• Astrid Rommetveit, Climate journalist (NRK Vestland), speaks about how the Bergen branch of Norway’s public broadcaster, NRK, became a leader in climate journalism.
• Special session on the Wasteland project (NO), where 22 Norwegian local newspapers teamed up with Investigate Europe to find out what really happens with sorted plastic waste. Amund Trellevik and Nico Schmidt from Investigate Europe along with Arne Hjort Johansen (Firdaposten), talk us through the process.

15:30-16:30: Keeping local media afloat: approaches to financing

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen Hødden, 2nd floor

An examination of financing models for local media, from government subsidies to innovative funding strategies.

Moderator: Veronika Móra (Ökotárs Foundation)

• Hanne Sekkelsten (Norwegian Media Authority), provides an overview of the Norwegian government’s approach to subsidizing media.
• Oxana Iutes (Internews, Moldova), explores how Internews uses re-granting to buffet local media’s independence in Moldova.
• A leading expert on the media funding landscape, Peter Erdelyi (Center for Sustainable Media), will look into the state of the sector and the effects of the donor-driven model.

Dinner location: Permanenten in Bergen city center.

Mediterranean buffet.

Find the location with Google Maps here.

09:00-10:00: The state of AI and media

Meeting room: Sydneshaugen Hødden, 2nd floor

Moderator: Jakub Wygnański (Shipyard Foundation)

• To discuss the pervasive threat of AI-generated disinformation, and how the news industry can counter it, Helge  O. Svela (Media City Bergen, formerly Bergens Tidende) will share his approach.
• Wojciech Oleksiak (The Europeans) uses AI voice cloning to overcome language barriers in podcasting.

10:00-10:15: Coffee Break

10:15-11:45: Parallel workshops

Administrative capacity for NGO’s run by journalists

Room Tårnplass, 4th floor

• Civil society stalwart, Vlad Dumitrescu (FDSC), shares his knowledge of effective administrative management in a workshop tailored to small media outlets with little to no administrative capacity.

How to create a favourable environment for freedom of speech

Room Galgebakken, 4th floor

• Human rights lawyer, Dominika Bychawska-Siniarska (Prague Civil Society Center), will lead a workshop where participants will discuss what constitutes a favourable environment for media. This will include regulatory frameworks, anti-SLAPP legislation, grant systems, and education initiatives.
• The workshop will be accompanied by Konrad Siemaszko from the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights.

1 hour lunch, buffet.

We arrange two separate study trips which require registration by participants.

• Bergens Tidende local newspaper

We will meet at Bergens Tidende at 13:00, which is located at Media City Bergen (the address is Lars Hilles gate 30, and is approx. 15 minute walk from the Scandic Bergen City hotel).

The visit will last from 13:00 – 13:45.

• Bergen city tour 

We will meet in the reception at Scandic Bergen City hotel at 13:00.

The visit will last from 13:00 – 14:00.

Please fill out this form if you would like to attend one of the study trips or not: Bergen Local Media Forum – study trip and dinner attendance