The president of the Federation of Spanish Journalists' Associations analyses the state of the profession in a new edition of PROA Comunicación's 'Diálogos de Actualidad'.
PROA Communicationa consultancy firm specialising in designing, managing and consolidating the communication and corporate reputation of institutions and companies, as well as of senior executives, has held a new edition of its Current Affairs Dialogues with the participation of Miguel Ángel NocedaPresident of the Federation of Spanish Journalists' Associations (FAPE) and former Editor-in-Chief of the Economy section of the daily newspaper El País.
In a small meeting, which was conducted under the rules of confidentiality, as is the rule in the Current Affairs Dialogues of PROA Comunicación, Noceda, who also chaired the Association of Economic Information Journalists (APIE), made an in-depth analysis of the situation of this profession in Spain, as well as the evolution of the media in recent years. He also referred to the new challenges facing the sector, such as the impact of artificial intelligence and the proliferation of disinformation strategies.
For the author of X-ray of the Spanish business community and The economics of democracyThe precariousness and misinformation are the main problems of journalism, a sector that has been particularly affected by the change of model brought about by digitalisation. This is compounded by the disappearance of traditional press publishers and a progressive loss of independence for journalists.
These data are supported, among other studies, by the Journalism Profession Report 2023 The Madrid Press Association, which shows that 82% of those who work in this profession consider that society has a poor perception of their activity.
On the other hand, Noceda made a clear difference between journalism that "knows, confirms and contrasts" the information before publishing it, and that which is disseminated on social networks without verification or context. "Truthful and contrasted information gives value to the media compared to social networks," he said. In this sense, he warned that "if artificial intelligence is misused, we will have the same problems as with social networks, but raised to the nth degree".
The president of FAPE pointed to media literacy as one of the solutions to prevent disinformation and to be able to train from the earliest educational levels in the use and interpretation of media content and social networks. Thus, he proposed education in this field as an antidote to the growing threat of the fake news and political polarisation.
At this meeting at the Madrid headquarters of PROA Comunicación, which was attended by executives from different companies, the relationship between the media and companies was also analysed, highlighting the role of communication consultancy professionals in fostering this link and contributing to the generation of information of value to the public.
In conclusion, despite the difficulties facing the sector, Noceda has launched a positive message for the future, since "human beings need to be informed and they need to inform. Since the beginning of time, there has been communication and it will always be important for there to be people who tell people what is happening to people".
The Current Affairs Dialogues PROA Comunicación brings together key figures from the economic, political, media and cultural spheres with business people, executives and opinion leaders to contribute to a deeper knowledge of reality, and to foster an in-depth understanding of the issues that lead the news agenda.
