Brazilian jounalists see BRICS media summit golden chance to exchange expertise, experience

The upcoming first BRICS Media Summit in Beijing will serve as a good platform for journalists to exchange know-how and experience, senior Brazilian journalists have said.

Leaders of 25 media organizations from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa will attend the meeting, which will be hosted by Xinhua News Agency.

First proposed by Xinhua, the summit is jointly organized by the Brazil Communication Company, the Russia Today International News Agency, The Hindu Group and South Africa's Independent Media.

Paulo Silva, an economics journalist with Correio Braziliense daily, told Xinhua that the event offers a great chance for him to learn about media in BRICS, which groups Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Roberto Lira, director of Brazil's Diario Comercio, Industria y Servicios (DCI), said: "The exchange of experiences and knowledge about journalism is the main focus of this summit. Beyond economic and cultural differences, the challenges we all face will serve as a uniting experience for the BRICS countries."

Lira explained that journalists in all countries face common challenges, including a lack of financing and the change of news consumption habits among the general public.

For the DCI, which focuses on economic and business issues, cooperation with foreign partners is fundamental, said Lira.

He believed that media outlets can be a way to tighten relations among the BRICS countries.

The DCI has signed an agreement to exchange information and news with Xinhua, which will enable it to create a special page about Sino-Brazilian commercial relations. "We would like to extend this project to other BRICS members," he said. Endi