The Five Must-See Bits Of The Walkley’s Storyology Conference

Thank God for the Walkley Foundation. At a time when attitudes towards the media seem to span from out-and-out despair to out-and-out disdain, it’s reassuring to know there’s still at least one organisation out there dedicated to fighting the good fight and ensuring that the best bits of journalism, media and storytelling aren’t left to rot at the altar of digital insignificance and Uncle Rupert’s news stranglehold.

From December 1-4, the Walkley Foundation are holding their annual Storyology Conference and the line-up is a doozy. Framed as “a four-day festival that brings together journalists, screenwriters, authors, satirists, entrepreneurs, multimedia gurus, documentary-makers, photographers, producers and bloggers”, it’s basically an excuse for all those who exist in the increasingly diffuse space we call “media” to get together, swap ideas, make connections and then (one presumes) get riotously drunk.

These programs can always be tough to get your head around, so here’s Junkee’s pick of the bunch.

1. Buzzfeed’s Editor-in-Chief Delivers A Keynote

Whatever your opinion on Buzzfeed, there’s no denying that it has been one of the most significant forces in global media in the past five years. Having cut his teeth at hard-edged political journalism hub Politico, Ben Smith came on as Buzzfeed’s editor-in-chief in 2012 and since then has built a newsroom stacked with more than 200 reporters covering dozens of content verticals – from investigative journalism to cat GIF compilations –  in countries all over the world. These days Buzzfeed clocks around 150 million unique visitors a month and Ben Smith is the man that made it happen.

December 3, 12:10 pm.

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2. Is The Internet Good Or Bad For Women?

An open forum in which anyone can say anything without fear of retribution? Hardly. The internet has galvanised feminism for a new generation but has also unleashed a visceral tide of trolls, misogynists and genital reprobates determined to destroy it. Local heroes Tara Moss and Jane Caro join with Dina Zaman (Malaysia) and Madhu Trehan (India) to discuss how the online world has opened new avenues of both opportunity and threat for the 51%.

December 3, 4:35 pm.

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3. What It Means To Be A Journalist In Asia

One of the great things about the Storyology conference is the way it shines a light on the journalistic politics of our near neighbours – powerful and heavily populated countries about which Australians, as a general rule, know next to nothing. On the third day of the conference, you can catch Aniruddha Bahal (India), Dina Zaman (Malaysia), Nivell Rayda (Indonesia), Voranai Vanijaka (Thailand) and Maria Ressa (Philippines) talking about the opportunities and challenges of being a reporter in this so-called Asian century.

December 3, 11:10 am.

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4. TV Is Dying, Long Live TV

If there’s one thing we can be truly sure of as we front up to the next decade of entertainment programming, it’s that free-to-air broadcast TV as we know it will probably cease to exist. (If this seems like hyperbole, one only needs to look at last night’s ratings, where not a single show cracked the million-viewer mark, compared to seven shows reaching that milestone 12 months previous). New media guns Marc Fennell, Dan Ilic, Monique Schafter, Patrick Abboud and Femi Oke (Al Jazeera, Upworthy) are going to chat about ways of making next generation television that actively engages its audience.

December 3, 3:10 pm.

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5. Buzzfeed and Junkee Go Toe To Toe

Look, we’d probably be remiss if we didn’t point out that Junkee’s very own editor-in-chief/dictator-for-life Steph Harmon is doing an in-depth conversation with the editor of Buzzfeed Australia, Simon Crerar, on the opening day of the conference. Will they swap ideas? Will they come to blows? Only one way to find out.

December 1, 1:30 pm.

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Find out more and buy tickets over at the Storyology website.