Salzburg Global president and chief executive officer Stephen Salyer takes part as a moderator for panel discussion on media and trust
Salzburg Global Seminar president and chief executive officer Stephen Salyer joined some 400 leaders from business, government, technology, philanthropy, academia, and media for the fifth annual Milken Institute Asia Summit, September 12-14 in Singapore.
Salyer moderated a panel discussion on Media and Trust: A Global Concern, which featured Gerard Baker (editor-at-large at the Wall Street Journal), Warren Fernandez (editor-in-chief of the Straits Times), Victor Mallet (Asia news editor at the Financial Times), and Maria Ressa (chief executive officer and executive editor of Rappler).
Panelists discussed the causes of declining trust in media, including the role of social media, and responses to ensure wider circulation of accurate news reporting. Warren Fernandez of the Straits Times noted greater sign-ups by younger readers for paid content, and indications that trust in branded content is rising.
Victor Mallet of the Financial Times commented on efforts by governments to censor free expression, and the determination of international and local journalists in Hong Kong to fight any steps that would limit hearing from those on all sides of current questions.
Speaking after the discussion, Salyer said, “We used to accept that the free flow of information is essential to open markets, the exercise of citizenship, innovation and speaking truth to power. In many parts of the world today free expression is curtailed to serve the powerful and to chill or eliminate dissenting voices. I left the audience with a question and a challenge: How do we make the benefits from free expression clear and compelling to people across diverse societies? What steps can dramatize what is lost to all of us when one viewpoint drowns out all others?”
The Milken Institute is a non-profit, non-partisan think tank which seeks to increase global prosperity. Salzburg Global convenes experts across regions and sectors to find solutions to large-scale global problems. In fields including sustainable development, health, the future of education and employment, the organizations share interests and ideas.