TOPIC:

Bitcoin, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology have grown to become a trendy and fascinating area of interest in many Financial Tech circles. Yet very little has been done in terms of examining its potential to improve or even disrupt journalism and the news media. This seminar summarises research findings on the Civil project, a popular platform that seeks to 'save journalism' by creating decentralized newsrooms that use blockchain as leverage. The aim of the seminar is to reflect on the opportunities and challenges facing Civil and similar projects that aim at using a technology that was originally intended to eliminate the need for trust between nodes in a blockchain network. Research findings show that this is a tough pill to swallow given that journalism will likely still need gatekeepers to approve and monitoring content, which in some ways is antithetical to the very philosophy that created bitcoin. Yet one can argue that it is still not a lost cause since some characteristics of blockchains appear to be useful in improving journalism provided certain conditions are met.

BIO:

Walid Al-Saqaf is a Senior Lecturer in Journalism and Media Technology at Södertörn University in Stockholm where his interests revolve around the intersection of journalism and technology including blockchain, artificial intelligence, robotics, and big data. He has a BSc degree in computer engineering, a master in journalism and a PhD in media studies.