Themes
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Main festival theme
Beyond Bubbles
Media and information bubbles are comfortable places to be. We live in them, create them and dislike leaving them. These bubbles are not just a digital phenomenon; they are the filters through which we select information, ignore other voices and cease to understand the reality around us. So how can we report on topics that people don’t want to hear about? How can we practise journalism that tests our assumptions rather than confirming them? And how can we recognise that our newsrooms often operate within a bubble?
Red flags
Red flags are signals that something is wrong. In journalism, we create some of them ourselves – when we replace accuracy with speed, when editorial compromises slip into self-censorship.
Others come from outside – intimidation of reporters, economic pressures on editorial offices, algorithms that decide what we see. The World Between the Lines 2025 festival maps these warning signs.
Five days of discussions about ethical dilemmas and professional failures that we openly admit. But also about pressures on press freedom and polarization through social networks.
We are currently preparing the programme for the 2026 festival. Here is an overview of what we are planning. A detailed programme, including specific dates and times, will be published at the beginning of 2026.
We are also preparing these events
Escape Game: Disinformation
Manipulation in action: can you recognise it when you see it? This interactive challenge demonstrates how quickly false information can appear legitimate, and how easily we can be fooled by it when we are under time pressure or overwhelmed by content.
Sensitive Photography
Sensitive photography is not just a matter of aesthetics; it is also a matter of ethics and power. In this workshop, you will learn how to engage with emotions in a way that does not exploit them, and understand the responsibilities that photographers have towards the people they portray.
Bratislava through the eyes of foreign reporters
What impression of Bratislava do those who write about it for major global media outlets have? It’s not just politics that attracts foreign correspondents – they are also looking for stories that are often overlooked by the Slovak public.
Women in the media
Attacks, harassment and questioning of competence. What do female journalists experience today, and why is this not discussed openly? This discussion will explore the specific forms of pressure faced by women in journalism.
Student media: How young people see journalism
Student media is not just “practice” journalism – it is often the first place where boundaries are tested, formats are experimented with, and future investigative journalists are born. Student media will be presented to you and will also answer these questions: When and how did they originate? Where do they get the money to operate? How do editorial processes work?
How journalism was done in the 1990s
How was journalism practised in the 1990s, and are there any similarities with the present day? Aggression, a divided society and physical attacks on journalists. We discuss these issues with people who experienced them firsthand.
