A version of this post appeared on Edelman.it
For several years, Edelman Italy has partnered with the International Festival of Journalism, the largest annual media event in Europe. This year’s festival, hosted in Perugia, covered a range of topics, from voice journalism and the explosion of perpetual electoral campaigns to the rules of the European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Academics, professors and journalists from around the world gathered to discuss emerging trends in communications and debate the future of journalism. Here are a few takeaways from this year’s festival:
- The prevalence of voice search and voice-controlled devices for news distribution is slated to increase in the next few years. According to comScore, 50 percent of all searches will be voice searches by 2020.
- Political campaigns have moved beyond traditional means to influence voting. Politicians around the world — especially in the U.S., Italy, Spain and Germany — have leveraged social media to speak directly to a mass audience, connecting with their constituents and spreading their messages.
- Across platforms, video continues to be a key format and is changing the practice of traditional journalism. Three-quarters of all mobile traffic will be used for video in 2023, according to a recent report by Ericsson.
- In the coming year, the world of technology — from GDPR legislation to new frontiers in artificial intelligence — is expected to continue to disrupt the way large media organizations function, leading to opportunities for continued advancement and growth.
Fiorella Passoni is general manager, Edelman Italy.