60 Years of Deutsche Welle: Ratings Versus Quality. Media Caught Between Market Pressure and the Mission to Educate.

25 June, 11:00 a.m., Plenary Chamber
Hosted by Deutsche Welle

It served as a reminder to those in positions of responsibility at public broadcasters in Germany. They have a statutory mission to promote education and culture – a mandate that regulates the broadcasting of commensurate programming.

But in this day and age, does such an educational mission make any sense? Does the concept hold any weight in these times of infotainment, increasing flows of information, Big Brother and never-ending talk shows? What role does education play – internationally and in the era of new media – against the backdrop of globalization? Is the quest for good ratings even compatible with the mission to educate?

We are “Amusing Ourselves to Death” postulated American media theorist Neil Postman in a 1985 book examining the changing media landscape and its impact on society and education. Back then, there was still no talk of the Internet, social media and computer games.

More than 25 years later, the number and speed of media has multiplied. Younger generations in particular, maneuvering with seeming sovereignty, are consistently exposed to an onslaught of truths, half-truths and distortions.

What role do educational programs have and how can their content be conveyed in a way that is contemporary? Is there still a need for them or are they nothing more than a luxury product for a tiny percentage of a dying breed of middle-class intellectuals?

These and other questions will be addressed by a panel of high-caliber representatives from public and privately-funded media organizations alongside officials from media regulatory authorities from Germany and abroad.

Keynote:

Radermacher, Prof. Franz Josef
Director, Research Institute for Applied Knowledge Processing and Member of the Club of Rome, Ulm, Germany

Panelists:

Cole, Dr. Charlotte
Senior Vice President of Global Education, Sesame Workshop, New York, USA

Craven, Peter (Moderator)
News Anchor, Political Correspondent, Presenter "Talking Germany", DW, Berlin, Germany

Ehrhart, Dr. Christof
Executive Vice President Corporate Communications, Deutsche Post DHL, Bonn, Germany

Ncube, Trevor
Deputy Chairman of M&G Media Ltd in Africa and Chairmann of Alpha Media Holdings in Zimbabwe

Shvydkoy, Mikhail
President of the Russian Television Academy Foundation and Special Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation , Moscow, Russia

Weil, Lynn
Director of Communications and External Affairs, US Broadcasting Board of Governors BBG