“Today, one of the crucial issues concerning information is the lack of trust between readers and newspapers. What can be done to reverse this trend? A possible approach could be to make our processes more transparent: wouldn’t you  trust more a restaurant with an open kitchen, where you can check the hygiene of the cooks and the preparation of the dishes, rather than one where everything happens behind closed doors?” According to the information architect of the GEDI editorial group, Federico Badaloni, the recipe for ‘The new shape of journalism’ is made up of many ingredients: accurate verification of sources, transparency and design of a trustworthy environment. His speech at the workshop organized by the Sicilian Post at the ‘Scuola Superiore di Catania’, however, was just one of the occasions during the five intense days of the event where 32 young journalists engaged with some of the most authoritative and innovative voices on the international information scene. The common goal: not just to focus on the issues at hand but to come up with solutions together. An injection of optimism, which gradually infected everyone: experienced journalists from the mainstream media, including Ferruccio De Bortoli (former editor-in-chief at Corriere della Sera) and the director of La Sicilia Antonello Piraneo, as well as colleagues experimenting with new approaches. From the model of ‘Pagella Politica’ and ‘Facta’, directed by Giovanni Zagni and focused on fact-checking and debunking, to ‘Slow News’ created by Alberto Puliafito, the role of technology and local information through the American experiences cited by Madhav Chinnappa and Jeff Jarvis, many possible roads have been traced, not always paved and free of obstacles. However, the fact that such roads exist and that young talents (under 35, mostly university graduates and with prior experiences in reporting) have chosen, in the immediate post-pandemic, to fly from Madrid or Milan to Catania to attend a workshop on a profession that many consider dead, should give us hope. These days have confirmed that culture, attention to  social issues and a critical view on reality can be the foundation of the society of tomorrow.

All the public panels are avaible on our YouTube channel

The workshop: a collaborative initiative

The third edition of the workshop, held at Scuola Superiore di Catania from 17 to 21 June, was organized by Sicilian Post with the patronage of: Fondazione Domenico Sanfilippo editore, Università degli Studi di Catania, Scuola Superiore di Catania, DISUM UniCt, Accademia di Belle Arti di Catania, Istituto Musicale Vincenzo Bellini di Catania, Teatro Stabile di Catania, Ordine dei Giornalisti di Sicilia, Comune di Catania, U.S. Consulate General Naples, The European House – Ambrosetti and Rai per il Sociale. The programme also featured panels organized in collaboration with  67° Taormina Film Fest e Etna Comics. Main sponsor was Google through the GNI.