Consensus issued after fourth meeting of World Media Summit presidium in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The World Media Summit (WMS) presidium has issued consensus reached by delegates at the presidium's fourth meeting, which was held in Shanghai on Monday.

The delegates were senior executives of 13 international media organizations from 11 countries, namely, the Agence France-Presse (AFP), Al Jazeera Media Network, the Associated Press, BBC, Kyodo News, Naspers South Africa, Reuters, Folha de S. Paulo Press Group of Brazil, International News Agency and Radio Sputnik, TASS Russian News Agency, the Hindu Group, Xinhua News Agency and ANSA.

Speaking highly of the achievements made over the past decade since the establishment of the WMS, the delegates agreed that summit meetings held over the years have played a significant role in facilitating the communication and cooperation of media organizations around the world, making the WMS one of the most important high-end communication platforms for media globally.

The delegates analyzed the situation faced by the global media industry today, proposing that media organizations should ride the wave of changes, embrace innovation, seize development opportunities, overcome challenges, mitigate risks, and strive to open up new development space.

According to the consensus, media organizations should place greater importance on technological innovation, and integrate technological innovation into the process of news transmission, creating a harmonious synergy between the advancement of technology and the creativity of humanity.

"Media should work to increase the efficiency of news production, enrich the different forms of news, expand the breadth of news transmission, and convert content advantages into communication advantages," wrote the consensus.

With the increasing supply of information and channels for its dissemination, media should assume responsibility for maintaining the order of news dissemination, according to the consensus. "Media organizations across the world have condemned fake news that is reported and spread across the Internet. The reporting and spreading of fake news violate journalistic ethics and damage the interests of the general public."

It was agreed that media should also fulfill their social responsibility, ensure what is reported is factual and accurate and provide their audience with comprehensive, objective and impartial information.

"To ensure the authority and credibility of media are upheld, media have the mission to fight against disinformation; false information should be clarified without delay; and fake news should be boycotted by all," wrote the consensus.

In the face of changes and challenges, media across the world should strengthen cooperation, learn from each other and carry out pragmatic cooperation in various fields, discussing innovation and development strategies together based on the principles of equal communication and mutual benefit, according to the consensus.

The delegates agreed that the WMS, which has now entered its second decade, should play a more significant role in promoting the exchange and cooperation of media around the world and leading the development trend of the media.

They agreed that Xinhua will host the fourth WMS in Beijing in 2020, with a theme of "Ride the Wave of Changes - Media Development Strategy in the Omnimedia Era."

The WMS was co-initiated by nine media organizations with global influence, including Xinhua, News Corporation, the Associated Press, Reuters, TASS Russian News Agency, Kyodo News, and BBC.

Organized by Xinhua, the first WMS was held in Beijing in 2009. The second WMS was held in Moscow in 2012 and the third WMS was held in Doha, Qatar, in 2016.

The WMS presidium is the supreme decision-making body of the summit.