A future for the printed press?

Invitation to join the online forum

In September 1997, the 'Report on the Impact of New Technologies Upon
the Press in Europe' was presented to the European Parliament by
Katerina Daskalaki, rapporteur of the Committee on Culture, Youth,
Education and the Media. The report noted how the enormous changes
presently taking place in the new media landscape might affect the role
of European newspapers, and expressed concerns about the consequences
for democratic nformation processes in the EU.

The deluge of unprocessed information, the marginalisation of certain
social groups in access to information, the commercialisation of
content and a perceived tendency towards human isolation were all
reasons for the Committee to draw attention to the role of the printed
press, particularly in strengthening and encouraging a public debate,
controlling political power and providing critical analysis.

Policies that affect the future of the press in the digital world are
manifold, including those in the fields of copyright regulation, the
establishment of new journalistic requirements, harmonisation of VAT
regulations, and assured access to networks.

A special report, written by media analyst Monique van Dusseldorp at
the request of the European Journalism Centre, aims to provide a
background to the concerns expressed about the role of the printed
press and electronic publishing, and has taken the issue of democratic
information processes as its central focus. Based on specialist
literature and Internet research, as well as interviews with leading
newspaper editors, the report will form the basis of a roundtable
discussion on the future of the press, to be held on

 24 and 25
September in Maastricht. The report can be viewed online or downloaded
at:

  http://www.ejc.nl/hp/fpp/contents.html

We warmly invite you to join this discussion on the future of the
printed press, and welcome your comments and suggestions by e-mail to
e...@bart.nl. To this end we have set up a webpage at
http://www.ejc.nl/hp/fpp/forum.html which, from the date of publication
up to the round table, will serve as a public arena for discussing the
future of the press.

European Journalism Centre Maastricht, the Netherlands

-- Visit the EJC website at http://www.ejc.nl for information on all
our courses, links to electronic publications in Europe and useful
tools for journalists

European Journalism Centre, Boschstraat 60, 6211 AX Maastricht, the
Netherlands. tel: +31 43 325 40 30, fax: +31 43 321 26 26.