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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
'Journalism is more than just creating content. It has to play an enriching role in people’s lives. It has to listen to them, instead of talk down to them. It has to empower them, instead of numb them with hopelessness.'
I’m writing to you from a hotel room in downtown Winnipeg, Canada, one of the coldest cities on earth.
I’m halfway through my Marshall McLuhan Fellowship, a fellowship awarded by the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines, which involves a five-city speaking tour across Canada and meetings with various Canadian organizations on a topic chosen by the fellow.
I may be cold in the joints, hands flaking from dryness from the North American chill, but my mind is far from benumbed.
Over the past nine days, I have had meaningful and fascinating engagements with journalists, academe, newsroom managers, and citizens about how building community around journalism may save the beleaguered field.
This is my chosen topic for this fellowship, taking off from my work as Rappler Community lead. I’ve been talking about the Rappler Communities app; our civic engagement programs like fact-checking workshops, yearly summits, and election fora; fellowships; and our Rappler+ members.
One reason this matters to Canadians is: news is banned on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
When I tried checking Rappler’s Instagram, for example, all that came out were these words: “People in Canada can’t see this content. In response to Canadian government legislation, news content can’t be viewed in Canada.”
Imagine that you are a Canadian newsroom and none of your stories can be shared on Facebook or Instagram. It was precisely in preparation for this nightmare scenario that we developed the Rappler Communities app. With the app, our newsroom has full control of how we distribute our work and how we engage with our community.
The Canadian local newsrooms I spoke with got it right away. They’re amazed by the app. One of them is about to develop their own app, with similar community engagement features. Another, Village Media, is piloting a similar platform with public chat rooms, but run by community leaders instead of journalists.
In cafes and quaint heritage office buildings, I spoke with five hyperlocal newsrooms: The Local, The Green Line, and The Walrus in Toronto; The Narwhal in Ottawa; and La Converse in Montréal.
They all have their own models for participatory journalism and for revenue streams that don’t rely on advertising or algorithms.
The Green Line does story circles with Torontonians about problems in their community to catalyze solution journalism pieces. La Converse, whose tagline is “news through dialogue,” teaches kids how to make podcasts so they stay away from crime. The Local and The Narwhal count on newsletters and innovative campaigns around their longform investigative pieces to raise funds.
They are all in agreement: Journalism is more than just creating content. It has to play an enriching role in people’s lives. It has to listen to them instead of talk down to them. It has to empower them instead of numb them with hopelessness.
Lela Savić, the millennial founder of La Converse, told me: “Journalism is community. People need community…. You have to systematically show up, for real.”
I’ll be distilling all my findings for the benefit of our newsroom so we can see the kinds of solutions that will work for the Rappler community. How about you? How else can journalism better serve you and groups that tend to get ignored by the media?
What’s cooking
If you’re reeling from all the fireworks at the White House, you will not want to miss an exclusive briefing about “The World Under Trump” to be given by Rappler CEO Maria Ressa on Monday, March 10, at 6 pm, at the Rappler newsroom in Pasig City.
To attend this rare briefing, just sign up for Rappler+ at rappler.com/plus, then email plus@rappler.com to reserve your slot!
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– Rappler.com
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