MediaRoad’s response to the Stakeholders’ Consultation on Horizon Europe Co-design 2021-2024

Written by Heritiana Ranaivoson & Luciano Morganti


Have your say on future objectives for EU-funded research and innovation

On the 28th of June 2019, the European Union, in the preparation of the implementation of Horizon Europe, launched an online consultation to prepare a ‘Strategic Plan’ for Horizon Europe that will guide the work programmes and calls for proposals for Horizon Europe’s first four years (2021-2024). It is complemented by an online consultation on Horizon Europe Co-design – Implementation, open until the 4th of October 2019.

This post recaps MediaRoad’s response, generally asking for a more systematic presence of the media sector in Horizon Europe’s work programmes.  It follows the structure of the guidelines.

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AI and the media: too hot, too cold, just right? A mapping of Artificial Intelligence applications

By Kati Bremme, Innovation & Prospective Directorate

 Algorithms are made to solve problems. Generating suspicion in some, perceived as a miracle solution by others, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere, impacting every industry. Some, though, struggle a bit more to fully embrace it, an example being the media. Compared to the financial or health sectors, the media’s capacity to acquire the necessary tools to integrate AI is less flexible and dynamic. In its latest AI Predictions Report, the PwC firm pinpoints these differences, reporting that 20% of interviewed executives plan to deploy AI in their enterprise, but only 7% in the media sector.

However, the application fields for AI in the mediums of written press, cinema, radio, television and advertising are broad: automation of business processes and customer relationships, social network monitoring and listening, information verification, predictive analysis of success

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Yle’s Sandbox project “Sideways app” by BCaster obtains MediaRoad’s Quality Label

MediaRoad assigned the Quality Label to Yle’s Sandbox BCaster project, started in April 2018.

BCaster delivered an app used during the Sideways festival. The app consists of regular information sharing pages as well as the possibility to create content. The content creation was done with built-in camera functionality, and when the user took a photo or video, it was automatically uploaded to cloud service. The User Generated Content (UGC) was automatically available on map-based view for Yle as well as for festival organizer. From the content flow, it was easy to see what was happening in the area almost in real time to provide real-time feelings from the festival area and guidance to, e.g. festival guest and professional photographers where to go.

The content was delivered automatically to a map-based view, and it was available for further use almost immediately after the content was taken. The material could have been used in live broadcasting as well as in the big screens. In this case, the material was used to create a fan-based view of the festival and collect the user-generated content in one place for further use.

During the festival, push messages were sent to the app users and requested to take photos and videos from the performers. Yle used the material to create fan based views from the festivals. The video with audience-created content combined with professional footage can be viewed in https://areena.yle.fi/1-50004480 .

The material availability was completely unique for all parties. Typically, fan-based content has been gathered with various methods beginning from shipping USB-sticks, various links and other methods. In this solution, the content was available in standard form and in a map-based view with clear time stamps. The straightforwardness of the content acquisition, it’s ease of use and the amount and authenticity of it was something wholly different and ground-breaking. The content was available immediately after uploading, and the content producer was known, and content could be trusted.

More info

Startup website: www.bcaster.com

Email:  janne[at]bcaster.com

Project description

Sandbox: Yle Sandbox

Information about the MediaRoad Quality Label.

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MediaRoad’s response to the Stakeholders’ Consultation on Draft AI Ethics Guidelines: interesting but… what about media?!?

Written by Heritiana Ranaivoson & Luciano Morganti


Draft Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI

On the 18th of December 2018, the European Union’s high level expert group on artificial intelligence today released draft ethics guidelines. They were open for comments until the 18th of January 18 (extended to 1st of February).

This post recaps MediaRoad’s response, in particular arguing for the media sector to be also considered, in particular as a use case.  It follows the structure of the guidelines.

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European Elections, Media and Disinformation: a tricky rebus to solve! The intake from EuroPCom 2018

Written by Luciano Morganti & Heritiana Ranaivoson

EuroPCom 2018

 

On the 8th and 9th of November 2018, the 9th edition of EuroPCom, the European Public Communication Conference, was held at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. This year the conference scored a record figure of 1,714 registrations. Also this was the first gender-balanced EuroPCom event to date! But this year EuroPCom established also other records with a very young audience (41% of participants were under 30 years old), 15% of participants coming from academia, and 66% female participants. As stated last year, EuroPCom is now the de facto annual “to be” event for communication managers and experts from local, regional, national and European authorities.

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Working to reconquer the internet for the public interest

Words by Geert-Jan Bogaerts

The internet has become an indispensable tool for modern society; we can’t imagine having to live without the convenience of internet-based applications that provide us with services like navigation, email, social interactions with our friends, information gathering and dissemination, document storage and search. But we also suffer from the fact that most, if not all, of these applications are built with only one goal in mind: to maximize profit for the company owning these applications. The end-user is a means, not an end.

The values that permeate the internet, are the values of Silicon Valley. Libertarian at heart, where the right of the strongest (or the richest, or the most capital-flush) prevails. And in those places where Silicon Valley does not rule, other values apply those of state-controlled applications, that see their users as objects that need to comply with state-given values. Think China, Russia, or a large part of the Arab world.

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MediaRoad answers European Commission Public Consultation on Fake News and Online Disinformation

Words by Luciano Morganti and Heritiana Ranaivoson

On 23 February, the MediaRoad consortium contributed to the Public Consultation on Fake News and Online Disinformation launched by the European Commission. The MediaRoad’s joint position builds upon different point of views of its diverse members representing European media organisation, researchers, creative and cultural industries and technology experts and entrepreneurs who have highlighted the role of quality journalism and trusted content to counteract disinformation and information disorder.

The consultation mainly aimed at:

  1. gathering ideas and insights about the definition of fake information and their online dissemination
  2. assessing measures already taken by platforms, news media companies, and civil society organisations to counter the spread of fake information online
  3. scoping for future actions to strengthen quality information and prevent the spread of disinformation online.

Read more to see the key points raised by the MediaRoad consortium in its response to the consultation.

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The challenges of fake news and the role of public service broadcasters in communicating Europe: the intake from EuroPCom 2017

Written by Luciano Morganti & Heritiana Ranaivoson

EuroPCom 2017

 

On the 9th and 10th of November 2017, the 8th edition of EuroPCom, the European Public Communication Conference, was held at the Committee of the Regions in Brussels. More than 1000 communication professionals attended the conference which has become, few years since its inception, the ‘must-attend’ annual event for communication managers and experts from local, regional, national and European authorities, as well as, in the most recent editions, academics, researchers and practitioners in the broad field of public and institutional communications.

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