Good day, everyone! It’s not easy to start from scratch in any business, and that includes launching an alternative media outlet, which Actualitica certainly is. Some may ask why another portal in a media world already flooded with content of all kinds and forms? As the founder and editor-in-chief of Actualitica, and someone who has been present in the media for a decade, I agree that today there is an overwhelming amount of content that is hard to keep up with. However, for three fundamental reasons, I firmly believe that new media like Actualitica are very much needed.
Three reasons for Actualitica
The first reason is that I believe the quality of content is mostly superficial, incomplete, and underdeveloped. Articles are copied or generically written just to fill the gaps between ads. This is an insult to all the authors with any real value. The second reason is that many life-important topics are either not investigated at all or are pushed to the margins. Poverty, injustice, vices, or crisis situations in parts of the world like Bosnia and Herzegovina, Yemen, Myanmar, and Libya rarely get adequate attention. The third reason favoring the growth of alternative media is the lack of objectivity, prudence, and, I dare say, common sense in most media outlets dealing with political and social topics.
The key problem of contemporary political journalism is its bias (with exceptions, of course). Media is either left-wing or right-wing, pro-Western (pro-EU and pro-NATO) or pro-Eastern (pro-Russian or pro-Chinese). This is the problem of all problems. I am convinced that media should be independent, autonomous, and objective in their analyses unless they are the official mouthpieces of a political party, a nation-state, or a multilateral organization. Objectivity in media is a prerequisite for the development of critical thinking among the broad masses. Media should, in some way, educate adults but also serve as an additional educator for interested children and young people.
Vision and mission
And here we come to Actualitica. First and foremost, this is not a news portal. A huge number of media outlets just transmit news, and anyone interested can read it in a million places. Actualitica will not transmit news (this would be a waste of time without adding new value), but will go much deeper beneath the surface. It will explain the hidden aspects. The official motto of the portal is investigation and analysis. Actualitica will be an investigative-analytical portal that will explore and analyze events, processes, and phenomena, providing broader and deeper insights into political, social, economic, historical, cultural, and sports topics. This is the vision of the portal. Unlike others, we will not just detect the bad things in the world; we will also try to find and propose concrete solutions on how to resolve or mitigate the problem. Criticism without a constructive proposal remains at the level of lamentation. That is our mission.
The World in 2025
Planet Earth in 2025 is a very interesting place in the universe where life is never dull. On the one hand, some of the world’s citizens enjoy a higher standard of living than ever before. Smartphones and watches, gaming computers, tablets, electric cars and scooters, optical internet, and artificial intelligence tools drastically simplify life. On the other hand, some of the world’s citizens live in conditions of scarcity, poverty, war, extreme weather conditions, and poor healthcare. While some enjoy the blessings of the 21st century, others live under conditions similar to the Middle Ages. Some citizens enjoy political, social, and religious freedoms, while others suffer under repressive dictatorial regimes. Terrorism is present in both parts of the world.
Politically, we live in a time of Cold War 2.0, with the United States and its partners fighting against Russia, China, and their allies. The wars in Ukraine and the Holy Land, the crisis in the South China Sea and on the Korean Peninsula are examples of superpower conflicts. Other large countries like India, Brazil, Egypt, South Africa, and Indonesia are trying to find their own path of development. We live in times of paradoxes. The Third World War is a term that has never been more frequently mentioned, despite the modern human’s reluctance to fight. The global economy has never been more interconnected and dependent, while a new era of tariffs, duties, and protectionism in international trade is emerging. Will protectionism or free trade prevail in the coming years? Perhaps a hybrid “protectionist free market” will emerge.
Vices, entertainment, and Actualitica
Global society struggles with vices such as addiction to drugs, alcohol, nicotine, pornography, gambling, social media, video games, and consumerism. These are negative aspects that are present all around us but are often swept under the rug. However, vices generate problems like depression and suicide, which cannot be ignored. That said, not everything is so bleak. The global entertainment industry is more vibrant than ever. The world, especially in the field of popular culture, is more connected than ever before. The American entertainment industry (Hollywood, Netflix, pop music) must compete with rivals from Mexico (reggaeton and soap operas), Brazil (samba), India (Bollywood), South Korea (K-pop, K-dramas), Japan (J-pop), and others. Of course, there is also sports, without which entertainment would be incomplete.
All of these and other topics will be discussed on Actualitica. We will not forget history, without which there is no future. Topics will be addressed in a creative, simple, but also insightful manner, with objectivity and prudence as top priorities. It’s time to begin. Let’s wish Actualitica a long, successful, and happy life full of inspiration!
Author: Matija Šerić
Featured image: www.freepik.com
