In Locarno, a round table on the relationship between culture and media

As part of the "Chilometro zero" project, on 9 August, the Locarno Library hosted the round table on the relations between culture and media "20 di cambiamento." Gabriele Balbi, Pro-rector for Education and Students' Experience at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI), was among the speakers.

The event took place to mark the 20th publication of the "Quaderni" series by the Division of Culture and University Studies (Culture in the media. Between vertical linearity and horizontal networks). The debate on the topic, which was open to the public and moderated by the Director of the Cantonal Libraries Stefano Vassere, featured several experts in the field. Among them, as already mentioned, USI professor Gabriele Balbi, but also the journalist Aldo Bertagni, Lorenzo Erroi (Chief of Culture and Society at RSI), Paride Pelli (editor of the daily newspaper "Corriere del Ticino") and Carlo Silini (editor of the weekly "Azione"). The morning was also marked by a welcome address by State Councillor and Director of the Department of Education, Culture and Sport Marina Carobbio Guscetti, and an introductory speech by the Director of the Division of Culture and University Studies Raffaella Castagnola Rossini.

As part of his contribution, Professor Gabriele Balbi presented the chapter on Media Markets: Global, Swiss and Local Trends, which he drafted with his colleague Colin Porlezza, Senior Assistant Professor of Digital Journalism at the Institute of Media and Journalism (IMeG) at USI. The piece focuses on the significant changes that have occurred in the media industry in recent decades. It specifically discusses new technologies, the emergence of new market players like Big Tech, and changes in social habits and practices such as on-the-go consumption and fragmented media consumption. Balbi and Porlezza conducted an analysis of global, national, and local trends, identifying two main points. First, Big Tech companies have become media companies, dominating the advertising market. Second, there is a growing shift of advertising investments from traditional media towards these big companies. These trends were discussed in a round table event, with the central question being the impact of these developments on cultural journalism.

The publication " Cultura nei media. Tra lineaità verticali e reti orizzontali" is available online by clicking on the following link: https://dam-pub.ti.ch/damws/getAsset?configId=lbd&size=512&id=1441 (Italian only)