On May 26 2008, RTE’s Mark Little spoke to the IIEA’s Young Professionals’ Network. Speaking about his life as a journalist, he recalled numerous anecdotes from his years as Washington correspondent and as a journalist covering conflicts in Israel, Iran, Northern Ireland and Iraq, as well as his encounters with figures such as Bill Clinton, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and his successor Brian Cowen. He also answered questions on subjects as diverse as the role of the media, the role of a journalist, his opinions on Irish politics, the differences between media reporting in the United States and Europe and his predictions for the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
He reflected on the changes that have occurred in the world of journalism since he entered the field at the age of 21, both in RTE and in the wider media field. He stressed the need for reporters and journalists to reports facts without allowing personality to become a factor or allowing sensationalism to encroach on a topic as a way of boosting viewer ratings. The advent of Web 2.0 technology and the growth of user-driven content will impact on the world of media and there is therefore a need to keep abreast of such developments and engage in new initiatives.
The arrival and impact of user-driven content is particularly noticeable in the success of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Describing his fascination with American politics, Mr. Little discussed the social movement that is fueling the Obama campaign and the use that is being made of youtube content and other web 2.0 technologies to drive campaigns and raise campaign funds. The number of young people voting in this U.S. presidential election is estimated to be the highest in many years and therefore the proliferation of online information and discussion is particularly pertinent.
Mark spoke of his experiences covering events in Israel, Iran, Iraq and also Afghanistan before September 11 2001 and the fall of the Taliban. He also discussed his journey across the Muslim world during the filming of the RTE series, Who’s Afraid of Islam?, explaining the complexities that he found under the surface of Islam, and comparing these to the complexities that exist in the United States, which often contradict the preconceptions that the rest of the world may have.
He also spoke of China in the word, predicting that in the future what China does will be as important for the rest of the world as events that take place in the U.S. such as the upcoming elections.
