AI, WFH and X: WIJ Scotland discusses the future of media at Belfast summit
WIJ Scotland’s Anna Burnside (second right) and Catriona Stewart (right) took part in a panel discussion at the Women in Media Belfast summit.
Pictures: Connor McKernan, courtesy of QUB and Women in Media Belfast
Women in Journalism Scotland was on tour last week as co-chair Anna Burnside and vice-chair Catriona Stewart joined Women in Media Belfast for the organisation’s inspiring Partnership Summit.
The themes of the Northern Ireland event were connection, collaboration and empowerment - and the mixture of expert panels and guest speakers in Queen’s University Belfast’s Great Hall certainly met the brief.
Anna and Catriona, alongside PA’s Westminster reporter Claudia Savage, were interviewed by the BBC’s Claire Graham for a panel on the future of media, which became a wide-ranging discussion about the threat of AI to journalists’ jobs, working from home, equal pay, the Twitter/X mob, and whether TikTok is still for the youth.
Attendee Kate Jackson, who is a digital media assistant at Volunteer Now, posted about the event on LinkedIn, giving her key takeaways from a day that looked at the “unique challenges and contributions” of women in the media industry.
She wrote: “The Future of Media panel discussed the evolving landscape of audience connection, highlighting that TikTok isn't just for a “young” audience anymore—everyone’s there.
“Catriona Stewart challenged us to consider whether reporters should embrace their roles as visible personalities. A reminder that the industry is evolving, and so should we.”
The day had begun with a powerful contribution from a panel hosted by Susan McKay, Ireland’s Press Ombudsman. A journalist with a prolific background, Susan asked Jilly Beattie, outgoing features editor for The Mirror in Ireland, about ethical journalism. They were joined by Joanne Dorrian, a missing persons advocate of the Let’s Find Lisa Dorrian campaign.
Lisa went missing in February 2005 and her family had to rapidly learn how to both deal with unwelcome media intrusion and use the press to their advantage in trying to bring Lisa home. Joanne spoke movingly of the family’s struggle while Jilly described building a bridge with the Dorrians after a distressing headline ran in The Mirror.
It was a masterclass of using compassion as a vital tool in ethical journalism, rather than seeing empathy and care as weaknesses.
Barbara McCann - an unstoppable powerhouse of a woman - received the longest round of applause from her speech on overcoming imposter syndrome and fighting to be taken seriously in the industry. She was utterly inspirational.
As well as panels covering women in sport reporting and in fashion journalism, other speakers included QUB Professor Gabriela Matthews, who spoke powerfully on the role of journalism in war zones. Aisling Cannon, a Queen’s University student, co-founded QUB’s Walkie Talkie Girlies society and told the conference how she and a friend set up the society last year to tackle women’s fears of walking alone at night.
The society has become a roaring success - bolstered by the power of coverage in the local press - and its Pink Project will see Belfast City Hall lit up in pink to raise awareness about ending violence against women.
It was impossible to listen to the insightful, sharp and powerful stories from the women taking part and not be inspired to keep on pushing for change and progress in the industry, to tell powerful stories in the way only women can and to spend more time in the company of what Anna likes to call “top birds”.