Bloggers' forum

The forum on bloggers and participatory journalism is due to start in a few minutes. Here's the rundown, I will try to update afterwards:

The New Media: Bloggers and Participatory Journalism


Time : Wednesday, 1 st February 2006, 14:30 – 16:00

This panel will deal with new media such as the phenomena of blogging and participatory journalism. Participants will analyze the effects of “new media� on traditional journalism and discuss the increasing role of the independent voice. Does the appearance of new media indicate a collapse of public trust in mainstream forms? Are traditional media institutions responding to the expectations of their audiences? How have new media transformed the media field and what are the next steps in their development?

Panelists:

Dan Gillmor, Founder, Center for Citizen Media

Dan Gillmor is founder of the Center for Citizen Media, an initiative in collaboration with the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School and the Graduate School of Journalism at UC Berkeley. The project aims to expand the reach of grassroots journalism. He is also the author of We the Media: Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People (2004). From 1994-2004, Gillmor was a columnist at the San Jose Mercury News. Prior to that he was a journalist with the Detroit Free Press, the Kansas City Times and other newspapers. He has won or shared in regional and national journalism awards.

Walid Noueihed, Deputy Chief Editor, Al Wasat Newspaper- Bahrain

Walid Noueihed has been Deputy Chief Editor of the Bahraini newspaper Al Wasat since its inception in September 2002. He began his journalistic work in 1970 working for daily newspapers and magazines. From 1982 to 1984 he was Deputy Chief Editor of Al Shiraa Magazine. From 1984 to 1985 he was Chief Editor of Hout Al Bilad Magazine. After that he moved to London to work for World Magazine from 1985 to 1988. From 1989 to 2002 he worked at Al Hayat newspaper in London and Beirut.
Oh Yeon Ho, Chief Executive Officer, OhmyNews Co. Ltd.

Oh began his career as a reporter for the Korean monthly magazine Mahl, eventually becoming chief of staff, and Mahl's correspondent in Washington D.C. Six years before AP won the Pulitzer Prize for reporting on the No Gun Ri massacre during the Korean War, Oh interviewed survivors and reported the story in-depth for Mahl. In February 2000, Oh launched OhmyNews, his long-dreamed media experiment. OhmyNews has grown rapidly to over 40,000 "citizen reporters" worldwide and 54 full-time staff reporters and continues to expand. In 2005 the annual Sisa Journal survey named OhmyNews the 6th most influential media in Korea . Oh has a Ph.d in journalism from Sogang University .

Bertrand Pecquerie, Director, World Editors Forum

Bertrand Pecquerie was appointed Director of the World Editors Forum (WEF) in 2003.
From 1989 to 2001, he served as CEO of the World Media Network, a press syndicate which included major European, Asian and Arabic newspapers such as El Pais, La Stampa, Libération, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Der Standard, Al Ahram, An Nahar, Milliyet, Yomiuri Shimbun, and others. From 1996 to 2001 Bertrand was also in charge of World Media Live, a subsidiary of Vivendi Universal in charge of international websites for clients such as the Cannes Film Festival. Formerly, Bertrand was a lecturer at the « Institut d'Etudes Politiques » in Paris .
Haitham Sabbah , Middle East and North Africa Editor, Global Voices and Blogger

Haitham Sabbah is a Jordanian Palestinian and one of the Arab world's early bloggers. On his blog www.sabbah.biz, he talks about politics, culture, art and life in the Middle East and advocates for freedom of ex press ion and human rights. Haitham is also the founder of www.AraBlog.net, www.NoToTerrorism.com , www.PalestineBlogs.Net and www.PalestineBlogs.com. As Middle East and North Africa editor at www.GlobalVoicesOnline.org, he leads a team of bloggers from the region. Haitham has been featured on the BBC, Christian Science Monitor, Al Hayat, Al Wasat, Avui, Lettera22, and Ammannet. He is an electronics/ communications engineer and manager at a leading Middle East telecommunications company.

Nathan Stoll, Product Manager, Google News

Nathan Stoll works at Google Inc as the global product manager for Google News. In addition to Google News, his work includes a number of products available through Google.com and Google Labs, including Google Suggest. He holds degrees from Stanford University in Computer Science and Political Science, and was a recipient of the Firestone Medal for excellence in research.

MODERATOR: Veronica Pedrosa, News Presenter, Al Jazeera International

Veronica Pedrosa is a news presenter with Al Jazeera International based in Kuala Lumpur . Pedrosa has fifteen years of international news experience. She worked with BBC World Television and BBC World Service Radio in London , and as a news anchor for CNN International at their headquarters in Atlanta and as CNN International's anchor based in Asia . In 2004 she was named ‘Best News Anchor� at the ninth Asian Television Awards. Pedrosa has hosted a range of special reports and programmes and interviewed a wide range of world figures from Nobel Peace Prize Winner Aung San Suu Kyi to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.