How to Rebuild Trust in the Media? Interview with Dr. Beata Czechowska-Derkacz

– The biggest challenge facing media education is rebuilding trust in the media – says Dr. Beata Czechowska-Derkacz, public relations specialist, assistant professor at the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication of the University of Gdańsk, in an interview from the series “Conversations on Sustainable Development” of the Centre for Sustainable Development.

Szymon Gronowski: The media market is constantly changing. New tools, technologies and ways of exchanging content are continually emerging. These changes necessitate new ways of media education. What should contemporary media education look like, and what social groups should it cover?

Dr Beata Czechowska-Derkacz: Media education in the field of understanding media mechanisms should start in primary school, continue in secondary school and at university, and not only in journalism courses. Knowledge about the media should also be disseminated throughout society. The media is an area of social communication, and the need to exchange information and communicate concerns all of us. However, media education is a big challenge today due to the dynamic changes in the media. This is, of course, related to new technologies and civilisation changes, including the global economy. The definition of media has changed; it is no longer just the press, radio, television, but also all types of media messages on the Internet, including social media, blogs, vlogs, portals, viral videos, podcasts and others. A new professional category has emerged: a citizen journalist, or the so-called grassroots journalism, which pays tribute to the motto “We the media”, created by Dan Gillmore, the author of a book considered the blog bible: We the Media. Grassroots Journalism by the People, for the People. We are both creators and recipients of media at the same time – a phenomenon that media experts wrote about in the last century, pointing out its positive and negative effects. In addition to all this, the media have become creators: they not only provide us with information, but also create it, creating a kind of media world. Mediatisation is so widespread that we almost do not notice it. In addition to phenomena that we have already begun to understand and neutralise, such as infotainment or tabloidisation, new ones have appeared: fake news, denial, post-truth or – in my opinion the most dangerous – infodemic. This concept means an overload of information that we are unable to assimilate, check or verify. The most important thing seems to be the popularisation of conscious and critical reception of the media: selecting information, understanding content, recognising threats and drawing conclusions. It is also necessary to talk about opportunities created by the media and new technologies. Henry Jenkins, author of one of the most important books on the great change in media, convergence, argued that it is not what the media can do to us that matters, but what we can do with the media. I completely agree with this thesis.

What does media education look like at the University of Gdańsk?

In the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication, we educate students in journalistic and media-related professions, and we are also involved in popularising knowledge about the media among various social groups. In the field of journalism and social communication, we offer studies at the bachelor’s and master’s levels. There are two specialisations in the master’s degree programme: advertising and public relations, and media and advertising photography. We also offer postgraduate studies: advertising and media marketing. It should be noted that journalism and social communication at the University of Gdańsk is a field with a practical profile. This means taking care of student internships and ensuring classes with experts and a wide range of workshops devoted to the

press, online, radio, television journalism, advertising, public relations and photography. Classes are conducted by, among others, experts and the best practitioners recruited from the labour market: for example, journalists from local and national media. As part of the student scientific circles, our students run university media: Radio MORS (Mega Open Student Radio), the CDN internet portal, Neptun TV, and the public relations circle – INSPIAR. This student activity provides them with excellent practical preparation for future professional challenges. Workshops and practical classes are possible thanks to the infrastructure, i.e. the Radio Studio, the Laboratory of Simulation of Television Recordings and Film Documentation, which we call the television studio for short, a photography studio, and an online studio. These are modern academic media laboratories, and our guests from academic centres both in Poland and abroad really envy us. During their professional internships, students participate in organising events and scientific conferences.

We work with students using, among others, the project method, for example, at bachelor’s project seminars, students prepare television and radio reports and PR strategies. The course has also introduced an original didactic programme in the specialisation of media and advertising photography, in which students are prepared, among other things, to organise public presentations of their works. Teachers from our Institute also conduct general academic lectures for all students of our university, as well as lectures and classes in the area of social communication at other faculties and courses. The most important thing, however, is that we try to educate versatile journalists, public relations specialists and experts in the field of social communication in accordance with the principles of ethics, preparing them for the challenges that await them on the media market. I can only talk about what I am directly involved in, i.e. our Institute, but various media initiatives are carried out within our entire university. It is worth adding, as I mentioned at the beginning, that we are also involved in media education, aimed at various social groups.

What are these initiatives?

We cooperate with secondary schools, where our employees conduct classes, and students from these schools have an opportunity to participate in conferences and other events organised by our Institute. We are also the organisers of the provincial level of the Media Knowledge Contest, the aim of which is to popularise knowledge in the field of media science, and the main prize is a credit book in the field of journalism and social communication. We hold various meetings and workshops, during which knowledge about the media is disseminated. I will refer to our flagship conference, Media-Business-Culture, during which not only scientists but also practitioners and representatives of the socio-economic environment meet. In addition to scientific panels, popular science debates and open lectures are held. This year, we hosted Vasilisa Stepanenko, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service in 2023. We also organise competitions popularising knowledge about the media, including Detector – a fact-checking competition which is organised in cooperation with the Demagog Association, the first Polish fact-checking organisation. The aim of this event is media education in the field of information verification. Another important event is Medi@stery. This is a competition for the best master’s thesis in media studies. The main prize is the publication of a dissertation in the form of a book that popularises knowledge about the media. Scientists from our Institute give lectures at the University of the Third Age at our university, including in the field of manipulation, propaganda, political marketing, media history and the latest phenomena in the media. Recently, Gallery 301 was opened, where photographic works not only of our students, but also of famous photographers are exhibited. We cooperate with institutions, enterprises, and associations on various media initiatives. We use their experience, in return providing up-to-date knowledge about media and social communication and organising internships and apprenticeships for students. Our Institute’s employees are also involved in the activities of various associations related to PR, media, and communication, including primarily the activities of the Polish Society of Social Communication.

What challenges do those involved in media education face? Is there any awareness of the need for media education among pupils, students and the general public?

I believe that this awareness has increased in recent years. This happened because of various negative phenomena that have appeared in the media. When we start talking about fake news or post-truth, we naturally increase our interest in these topics and start looking for information. However, we are still dealing with a less-than-critical reception of the media. Media recipients do not always understand the mechanisms of manipulation and propaganda, and other phenomena mentioned earlier. An uncritical approach leads to the fact that from media recipients we become their followers: we trust only those media that confirm our beliefs, opinions, and worldview. Social media carry many threats, we ourselves “sell” our privacy there, without being aware of how our photos and information about us can be used. However, it seems that the greatest challenge facing media education is to rebuild trust in the media by educating professional journalists who act in accordance with the principles of ethics of this profession and conscious recipients who can use the benefits of the media while noticing contemporary threats.

Have we lost trust in the media?

It is a complex problem. We have lost it as a result of phenomena such as manipulation, propaganda, tabloidisation, infotainment and fake news, which are quite common in the media. This also applies to public media, especially in recent years. We reach for the media and look for information there, but at the same time, we believe that they present the world in a distorted, untrue way. On the other hand, the media are still the basic source of information about the world, both distant and closer, local communities, our surroundings. The profession of a journalist has been degraded, and PR specialists are considered propagandists.

Journalists and PR people themselves often do not understand their mission and role. For many years, the community has been discussing codes of ethics, legal regulations and ways of rebuilding public trust. However, not much comes out of it. It is enough to recall the fact that the Press Law of 1984 is still in force in Poland. Of course, it has been amended many times and adapted to changes in the media market, but its core is made up of provisions from almost 40 years ago. We expected that the openness of the Internet and social media would lead to an intensified exchange of opinions and views, and would be a social link. It turned out that we are closing ourselves in information bubbles. A huge amount of work needs to be done so that the media regain recipients’ trust and become allies in understanding and describing the world. I truly believe that our students, young journalistic professionals, will be able to change the media environment. Looking at their achievements, I am convinced it is possible. They are involved in interesting projects and understand the social responsibility of the media. It concerns particularly the reliable dissemination of information and addressing important social issues, including those related to sustainable development.

How can we promote sustainable development in media education? Are these two concepts, sustainable development and media, connected at all?

Sustainable development is a very broad concept, mistakenly associated only with ecology. And this, in addition to the so-called modern technologies and green solutions that protect our planet, concerns also well-being, work-life balance, responsibility, ethics, cooperation, the culture of respect, and interpersonal relations. In the journalism and social communication course, we have implemented many good practices in the field of media education, which are also consistent with the principles of sustainable development promoted at our university, including through the activities of the university’s Centre for Sustainable Development. Students work in small groups during workshop classes, in an environment that is safe for them and respects the principles of well-being. They follow the rules of the culture of respect: tolerance and openness, not using aggressive language in media messages. They try to reduce the carbon footprint emitted by the media, among others, by creating digital content. They cooperate with employers: media agencies, film agencies, the press, radio, television, non-governmental organisations, public institutions and enterprises, learning the practical side of the profession. They acquire and disseminate content on sustainable development using versatile PR and journalistic tools. At the university, they organise meetings, festivals, open days, conferences on environmental protection, climate, and contemporary civilisation crises. Importantly, they also promote pro-ecological attitudes, setting a good example.

The University of Gdańsk is a partner of the project “SUMED – Sustainable Multidimensional Media Contents”, i.e. balanced, multidimensional media contents, of which you are the head on behalf of our university. The aim of the project is to promote sustainable development, technology and digital solutions in the higher education sector and the labour market, primarily in the media. How will these tasks be achieved within the project?

The SUMED project arose from talks and discussions with partner universities. The tasks we carry out result from a holistic approach to issues related to sustainable development and the media. One of the areas are tasks related to promoting the principles of sustainable development in media production: these include reducing the carbon footprint, modern technologies and digital content. The second is to change the curricula of journalism, PR, and media production courses in order to attain sustainable development goals. The third is the use of the media to promote content related to sustainable development. We work within a consortium; the entire project team includes a dozen or so people from four partner universities: the University of Gdańsk, the University of Malta, the University of Applied Sciences in Turku and the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The leader is INNOCAMP PL, an organisation operating within the ASHOKA network, specialising in projects in the sphere of social innovation. We have different experiences, legal regulations and resources, which is why, when implementing joint projects, we give ourselves a certain degree of independence and independent solutions. As part of the project, we are working on changes to curricula in order to introduce new content to journalism, PR and media production subjects, relating to ecology, green solutions and modern technologies, but also to implement the goals of sustainable development by achieving specific learning outcomes.

We emphasise the promotion of ecological content, the importance of behaviour consistent with professional ethics, the social responsibility of the media, knowledge of legal conditions, work in a friendly environment, student development and self-fulfilment, and many others. We are preparing pilot classes, workshops, and lectures that take into account ecological content and sustainable development goals. Some of these classes are already being carried out at partner universities, others will be conducted in the next semesters. We organise workshops and training for students and academic teachers in the field of media education and sustainable development, we develop educational materials and joint guides to the world of media and sustainable development. We are

also planning to create free e-learning courses. In the long term, it would be worth introducing systemic solutions in media education to be able to implement sustainable development goals, for example, based on the EU EMAS criteria (Eco-Management and Audit Scheme). This is a European Union tool for companies, institutions and other organisations that voluntarily undertake to assess their impact on the environment and improve their activities to make them environmentally friendly.

Why is this so important?

Fortunately, sustainable development policy is becoming more and more common. Not only in companies, but also in other organisations: public institutions, non-governmental institutions, and educational organisations, which have a special role to play here. Climate change and environmental degradation are a fact, they affect us all. How we will talk about this topic and how to teach future generations is a fundamental issue. Will we learn to discuss environmental protection without the language of aggression and emotional blackmail in the form of guilt? How to talk constructively, proposing specific solutions? What does media responsibility mean in terms of implementing sustainable development goals? Can journalists be ambassadors for positive changes in the field of environmental protection? What modern tools should be used in media education and how to shape pro-ecological attitudes, a culture of respect, a friendly media environment, a friendly work environment and cooperation? These are challenges that we must face today, and for younger generations, the so-called millennials or generation Z, environmental protection, work-life balance, well-being, tolerance and a culture of respect are fundamental issues, their natural environment. As academic teachers, we cannot turn away from these issues. Shaping the competences of the future is our mission and responsibility. More and more issues from this area are also reflected in EU legal regulations and declarations. It is worth being prepared for such changes.

In the information materials about the project, we can read that one of the effects of its implementation is to create a common educational environment for the four European universities that are partners in the project. What kind of environment will this be? What benefits will it bring to students and teachers?

We exchange good practices: modern teaching tools, models of working with students, ideas for new content in media education, expert experiences, ideas for creating a friendly space for work, learning and establishing relationships. The common educational environment will be created by our common experiences, new curricula, new educational tools and solutions that support friendly education in the area of media, while protecting the environment. Cooperation with external stakeholders is important to us: organisations and media companies that share their experience with us, communicate expectations regarding the future competences of our students and help us introduce positive changes.

Will there be on-site classes for students from foreign universities? Or is it rather an offer of online classes?

We organise joint workshops and laboratories, but these are online classes, similar to e-learning courses. If, as a result of our project, we create modules in English, we will be able to share them with partner universities. At our Institute, we have already developed many new solutions at this stage and are introducing changes. The project team, which includes Dr. Dominik Chomik and Anna Kietrys-Tusk, works very intensively, and we cooperate with many people, primarily from the Institute of Media, Journalism and Social Communication: supervisors of scientific circles: Dr. Monika Białek, Dr. Dominika Rafalska, Dr. Konrad Knoch, Prof. Małgorzata Łosiewicz, as well as didacticians, including Dr. Grzegorz Kapuściński and Dr. Paweł Kozielski. We use the knowledge of experts from the UG Centre for Teaching and Tutoring Excellence and the university’s Centre for Sustainable Development. I am

convinced that in such a group and with such positive energy, we will be able to introduce many beneficial solutions in the field of media education and sustainable development.

What else has been achieved so far in the project?

In June this year, online workshops were held for academic teachers organised by the University of Gdańsk. During these workshops, teachers learned how to construct creative syllabi that use modern educational tools. They were run by experts from the University of Gdańsk, including the Centre for Teaching and Tutoring Excellence and the University of Malta. This year, each of the partner universities is planning two workshops for academic teachers. On 1 December, we organised a workshop on well-being at the University of Gdańsk, and another one, “Media for the Climate”, will be held on 15-16 December. We have prepared proposals for changes in curricula in several subjects in the field of journalism, public relations, and media production. Pilot courses for students were held in practical preparation for journalistic and PR professions. During these courses, we used our previous practices and experiences, introducing new modules and elements. We are currently collecting students’ opinions in order to offer them additional training. We are very advanced in our work on pilot classes for students. The first booklet was also created, in which we show our university media environment and good practices in the field of sustainable development at the University of Gdańsk. I hope that this publication will be available soon. It is worth mentioning that several meetings of the project partners were held, during which we were able to get to know each other’s resources, experiences, and practices. Our partners visited Gdańsk, and I must proudly say that we really have nothing to be ashamed of when it comes to media education. We showed them our television studio, radio studio, photography studio, and online studio. We demonstrated how we work with students. We presented our student media, which are absolutely unique not only in the Tri-City, but also on the scale of Poland. The meeting at the University of Applied Sciences in Turku was valuable because Finland has a lot to offer in terms of good practices concerning sustainable development and modern teaching methods. The project will last until the end of 2025, so in 2024 we are going to conduct further classes related to changes in education programmes, but we will also organise further laboratories for teachers, also in English. We will also issue publications, organise workshops and meetings that will disseminate knowledge about sustainable development in the media.

We have talked a lot about the future plans for the SUMED project. What challenges or difficulties related to the project and media education in general do you see?

The biggest challenge is to introduce changes in the outcomes of education to include the achievement of sustainable development goals in a systemic manner. The changes that are taking place in the world and higher education are heading in this direction. Recently, for example, the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management (GA) has approached the UN with a proposal to expand the sustainable development goals to include responsible communication that shapes ethical relations with stakeholders. The appeal was issued on behalf of over a hundred industry organisations from around the world, including Poland. However, such a systemic change requires time and cooperation of many bodies. Designing changes in curriculum content or preparing pilot classes also requires a lot of creativity. We must take into account our resources, possibilities, but also the expectations of students, teachers and employers. Fortunately, we do not have a problem with the enthusiasm of students for whom the ideas of sustainable development are a paramount value. Such projects are implemented as part of the bachelor’s project seminar that I conduct.

What projects are these?

In the course of the bachelor’s seminars, some students prepare their diploma theses in the form of projects. Our seminar participants produce radio and television reports, podcasts, PR strategies, educational projects and others. They do them independently. They also have to organise premiere screenings, events, prepare an evaluation of their project and describe the results.

It requires a lot of effort, time, creativity and commitment. And I have to admit that I am proud of their achievements. For example, there was an excellent radio report on freeganism, entitled “Throwing away Food in the Face of Conscience”, written by Kamila Fabianowicz and Natalia Kołodziej. A team of students (Wiktoria Dziurdź, Julia Gulbicka and Maciej Kraus) prepared and implemented a PR strategy for our university’s Academic Sports Association. Currently, as part of my seminar, students are preparing a series of podcasts on sustainable ways of travelling (apart from mass tourism) and reports on the pros and cons of electric cars. In their projects, they address important, current social issues related to women’s rights, religious tolerance, minorities, contemporary civilizational threats and interpersonal relations. They set the bar high.

Thank you very much for the interview, and I wish you success in the next stages of the project.

 

Interview by Szymon Gronowski (Centre for Sustainable Development, University of Gdańsk)