The Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies is looking into how actors within the Nordic media industry can be part of shaping the future role of media for the betterment of society. We do this with a variety of different initiatives including the think tank, ‘Future Nordic Media Landscape 2030’, and the project, ‘Public Service Algorithm 2.0’.

THINK-TANK: FUTURE NORDIC MEDIA LANDSCAPE 2030

We are currently establishing the think tank, 'Future Nordic Media Landscape 2030', that will be gathering media professionals across industries in order to develop a new agenda for the direction of the media landscape of the future.

WHY NOW?

The traditional media industry is in crisis.

The media landscape as we know it is changing rapidly and there is an urgent need for accountability from all stakeholders in the media industry to rethink the role of media in society, the business models, and building long-term visions on how the Nordic media landscape will look in the future.

In our members' report, 'Future Media', we addressed some of the significant megatrends affecting the media industry of the future, with three major areas challenging the role of media: the shift from broadcasted to networked truth, growing media polarisation, and declining public trust in media.

Increasingly, we are getting our news through social media platforms, and this news is often also created and shared by the citizens. In today’s world, the media landscape is to a great extent being facilitated and controlled by the horizontalisation of technological platform services and the use of algorithms and AI. This is unlikely to change!

It has been some very chaotic years, and it’s clear that the world - more than ever – needs reliable, responsible curation of content in the media based on fairness, accountability, and transparency.

With the octopus-like development of non-traditional media players from big tech, the gaming industry, and a range of other corporate companies, the media landscape is changing. What role will the media industry have in the future? And how can the Nordic media industry players take an active part in shaping the future of a responsible media landscape? Could responsible cooperation across the industry in the Nordics be the answer to new solutions and guidelines?

Public and commercial media providers no longer have a monopoly over the production and sharing of media content. Non-traditional media players, often from the tech industry, have redefined what it means to create and consume media. The ecosystem has grown to include 4.3 billion internet users who have become both producers and distributors of media content.

It is time for the Nordic media industry to rethink the ecosystem and create new value propositions based on design to accommodate citizens’ fundamental rights as well as values linked to news quality standards, such as fact-based communication, unbiased reporting, independence, pluralism, diversity of viewpoints, fairness, transparency, and respect for human dignity, equality, and human rights.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU?

Get exclusive access and be part of a movement.

As part of the think tank, you will get a platform to position your organisation as a thought leader in the media industry. Your organisation will be listed as a participant, reviewer, and contributor to the ongoing outputs of the think tank.

The think tank will work on the foundation for a set of guiding principles and common terminology for shaping the future of the media industry. The goal is to impact the Nordic media landscape by looking into the possible futures and synergistic solutions across the industry and region as early building blocks for the road ahead.

As part of the think tank, you will also get access to:

• Strategic tools and facilitation to work with megatrends and future scenarios to assist with long-term decision making.
• Insights and exclusive knowledge on the future media landscape and how to stay relevant in a digital and complex reality.
• Networking and collaboration across the media industry with a diverse group of stakeholders.
• Best, next, and future practices for media companies.
• A platform to positioning your company as thought leader in the media industry.

WHAT WILL BE ON THE AGENDA?

Examples of areas the think tank aims to address:

• The relevance and role of media in future scenarios
• Consumer needs and demands in the future
• Media literacy in the future
• Metaliteracy & the future of the Metaverse
• Trust, truth, and transparency in media
• The Unbundling of the Media industry
• Automation and AI
• And much more…

WHO SHOULD TAKE PART?

We invite selected organisations from across the Nordic Media Industry.

The think tank will consist of participants from the Nordic media industry with the aim to join forces and take responsibility for the direction in which Nordic media is headed. Non-traditional media such as platform owners, the gaming industry, and other stakeholders in society are more than welcome in order to embrace the complexity of the future media ecosystem.

Interested in knowing more about our perspective on the future media landscape? You can start by reading the following articles:

• A Wake-up Call From The Future Media Landscape
• Whitepaper: 4 scenarios on the future of the Metaverse
• Embracing the Metaverse
• What if 99% of the Metaverse is made by AI?
• How will the Metaverse change the future of work?
• Interview in Moonshot
• Reflections on the Future Media Landscape
• 8 trends to look out for in 2022 in the media & tech industry
• Interview in Nye Medier (in Danish)
• The Metaverse explained (in Danish)
• Future Perspectives on Social Audio
• The Future of the Media and ‘Doing Good’ in the Age of the Algorithm

Read more about our focus on Media

Read more about our work on the future of the Metaverse

WANT TO BOOK A PRESENTATION?

Get inspiration and read about some of the talks we offer on the media industry here.

PUBLIC SERVICE ALGORITHM 2.0

A new way of curation in the media landscape.

How can we ensure a balanced and non-manipulated exposure of media content that is transparent and support diversity? Fake news and misinformation have exploded in the media landscape. A problem that has become even more visible in the course of the COVID-19 crisis. The WHO has already named it an infodemic, where fake news spreads like a virus. The discussion has mainly been, how we regulate and handle the content itself in the form of fact-checking and deleting content, but the problem is not only in the content itself – the spread of the content is dependent on the curation and the algorithms controlling how it’s being presented.

The battle for democracy in the future is a battle of data and algorithms.

The mission of the project is to create the basic structure of a responsible algorithm that functions as a more transparent and reliable content curator - designed for societal cohesion with a balance between consensus and diversity - working against echo chambers and polarization. In short; to create an algorithm with a goal to ensure democracy.

Of course, there are many challenges to doing this: Bias in the code, lack of access to the right data, data ethics, protection of user data and the requirements for the algorithm are just some of them which will be investigated and worked on as part of the project.

If you are interested in knowing more, feel free to reach out to Head of Media, Sofie Hvitved.