The EBU’s Members have a long history of producing some of the most engaging sessions at News Xchange. Previously the BBC and DR hosted a session explaining the use of algorithms for news, ORF presented one on data journalism, and Eurovision and NHK joined together to discuss reporting disasters in light of the 2011 Sendai earthquake and tsunami.

This year promises to be no different. EBU Active and Associate Members will present 4 plenary sessions and one workshop at News Xchange 2015 (28 to 30 October) in Berlin.

The BBC will kick-off News Xchange with a session focusing on one of the, if not the biggest stories of 2015 - the  Refugee Crisis. The BBC’s Head of Newsgathering Jonathan Monroe and Political Producer Chris Gibson will produce this debate and Clive Myrie, one of the broadcaster’s most experienced anchors, will moderate.

The panel, which includes Head of Communications for the United Nations Refugee Agency Melissa Fleming and reporter Lindsey Hilsum from UK news provider ITN, will debate what news media has got right, what it’s got wrong and how it can better report on issues of asylum and migration.

ITN/Channel 4 News, in partnership with Al Jazeera, will ask the question of how we report on the Middle East. This session will look at how non-local broadcasters report on places like Egypt, Iraq, Syria and Yemen and address the question of parachute journalism - flying in correspondents from overseas for short stays - versus local knowledge.

It will also look at the constraints put on local reporters in some territories. Channel 4 News’s celebrated anchor Jon Snow will moderate this panel, which will include Rageh Omar, ITV’s International Editor as well as voices from Al Jazeera and Nile TV.

Two Associate Members are producing News Xchange sessions on day two - the day that focusses on innovation. China’s CCTV will offer an insight into the world’s most populous nation and the challenges of reporting from the country in the session “Reporting from China - an Insider’s View”. In this session we will hear from both Chinese and Western journalists on the challenges presented in reporting both personal and big global stories from China through two case studies.

Meanwhile, NHK will continue its trend of showing News Xchange some of the new technologies Japan’s public broadcaster is attempting to put to use in its storytelling. This time, NHK will work with Associated Press to showcase its experiments with automated reporting and how it can free reporters to work on more in-depth storytelling.

Flemish Belgian Member VRT is bringing its Head of Start-up Ezra Eeman and anchor Tim Verheyden to News Xchange to deliver a workshop on the latest digital tools for storytelling. From smart searching to social media analysis and storytelling tools, the workshop starts with a look at the implications of new technology on media/news consumption and user interaction.

As in previous years, News Xchange yet again promises to showcase some of the best work from the EBU’s Members. Join us for the news industry’s biggest event of the year and learn from the best news media out there as they share their experiences and provide insights into the challenges all news organisations face today.