December 2006 Time Magazine, not a celebrity on the cover but a screen and one word ‘You’ are the man/woman of the year. And why? For seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game. Time’s Person of the Year is you (Lev Grossman, 2006).  With this choice Time pinned down what cannot longer be ignored. Media has changed shape. Today, news is no longer solely linked with the current media providers.  But due to recent technological developments it is omnipresent and easy to access. More and more citizens post their news on the web. It is present on websites, Blogs, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and other social media spaces, and is created by you and me, citizens wanting to share information with others.

Over the last couple of years traditional media has tried to formulate an answer to this development in finding a balance between print – and online information, in keeping track with the newest technological trends to present their information and in figuring out how to integrate citizen journalism within their (online) information channels.  What are workable/feasible models for the future? 

In what way technological developments will influence the way we deal with news and information. Will they empower us more, will new constraints appear and will the old once be sorted in time? Is there a possible role for guides/filters and who would these filters be (newspapers, well known bloggers … ? And in line with the later, is there a possible role for guides/curators guiding non-expert users through the information in an open way build on trust and reputation? What are the possible ways forward for mainstream media in working with citizen journalists?

These issues will be discussed more deeply during a Meeting of Minds and will be challenged afterwards by the future scenarios presented.

Experts meet during the day, but the discussion will not be restricted to specialists. We also want to hear your voice in the interactive debate that will take place at Vooruit, Ghent. Registration for the event is free.