Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://archive.gijn.org/tag/open-society-foundations/)
Moving Walls 20 is a documentary photography exhibition on human rights, produced by the Open Society Foundations (OSF). The current exhibit highlights societies undergoing transition in China and the Middle East, and people suffering from repressive regimes and injustice in North Korea, Sierra Leone, and Ukraine.
Citizen reporters have played a notable role in journalism in developed countries such as France and the United States, and emerging markets such as China, India, Jordan, Estonia, and Nicaragua. Citizen reporters are using the internet, video, mobiles, and other digital tools to gather information, interview people, watch events, seek comments from experts, and publish their stories via blogs, videos, Wikipedia, and other platforms.
Hacks and hackers meetups. Open government initiatives. Hackathons and datafests. The media development world has discovered big data, and it is embracing it big time. Donors like the Knight and Omidyar foundations are focused almost exclusively on tech fixes to what ails the media. As one prominent donor told a nonprofit newsroom executive, “We no longer fund content.”
A year ago I wrote an article about digital media startups around the world and attempts to categorize and analyze them. Some of that material is now a bit dated, and I have come across some other analyses and lists that have good road maps for media entrepreneurs.
This is not just about getting the money; it is about creating a faithful community of readers. In a way, they are searching for the lost group of loyal subscribers to traditional newspapers who would call the newsroom in times of crisis as if journalists were family.
Seeking a chance to improve your skills and expand your world? Tired of the everyday routine in your newsroom? We’ve updated our guide to grants and fellowships of special interest to investigative journalists around the world. There are plenty of short-term and long-term opportunities, both for staff and freelance reporters. Follow the links for information on deadlines and background on the various programs.
Facebook and Google and their humongous data crunching machines flourish while fine media wilt. How to compete? They take media’s original costly-to-produce-content for free and make it available to users to circulate, anticipating their needs with their intelligent algorithms.
In everyday journalism, to get the public to pay attention to your story, to make it not only truthful, but also credible and attractive, is a hard task. And it has become even harder in the digital era. Information flows constantly through our portable electronic devices, like a river of muddy waters, dragging the authentic pieces of story-telling together with the fake; the verified; and the gossip. So if journalists want to have any chance at succeeding in this battle, they must not only find good stories, but must also elevate their story-telling to an art.
Cross-border cooperation was the big takeaway from a three-day meeting of investigative journalists from 17 countries in San Juan, Puerto Rico, November 4-6. Billed as “The First Caribbean Meeting of Investigative Journalists: Tracking the Stories that Connect Us,” one aim was to create a counterweight to the power of organized crime by cooperating across borders, according to Carla Minet of the Center of Investigative Journalism of Puerto Rico.
The ever-evolving threats to media freedom and independence worldwide is challenging journalism to redefine itself and find ways to survive. Open Society Foundations’ Maria Teresa Ronderos talks about how journalism needs to reinvent itself and maintain its relevance in today’s society.