Talkshow about the future of journalism with new moneymakers, captivating ideas, new solutions, and a positive vibe and energy. In this series we dive into the field with international journalists, photographers, filmmakers and scholars to speak about their emerging stories and the importance of journalism. This week is about new business models in journalism. Because especially in these uncertain and trans-formative times, reliable information and independent media are more important than ever.
At a time when the worlds attention is focused on the bleak economic forecasts and the health and climate crisis, independent journalists play a vital part in delivering reliable information to the public. However, the outlook for survival of independent media is grim. Many media outlets worldwide are on the brink of bankruptcy due to the economic crisis, but also because of failure of traditional business models. Besides that access to information is increasingly restricted in many countries, resulting in journalists facing physical threats and prosecution. If we want to ensure the survival of independent journalism, we need to act now! Because especially in these uncertain and trans-formative times, reliable information and independent media are more important than ever.
Jeremy Druker is the co-founder of Press Start. Press Start is the first global crowdfunding platform for reporters in countries where the press cannot report freely, potentially revolutionizing the way independent journalism is funded in the developing world and emerging democracies. The platform seeks out talented and influential journalists who might live in impoverished countries with scant resources to support their crowdfunding campaigns, or any independent journalism at all. Or they might lack the foreign-language skills or the right contacts to mount a successful crowdfunding campaign on their own. Then they link them up with donors large and small around the world.
Stijn Frankfoorder is Head of Studio at Are We Europe. Are We Europe is the only pan-European media organization that goes beyond the national perspective to cover the European story. Produced by a cross-border collective of journalists and creators, our content spans the continent. They bridge the local, national and transnational, offering personal stories, unapologetic social critique and analysis of where the hell this is all going. Why? Because Europe is bigger than Brexit, bigger than Brussels, and bigger than breaking news.
Sarah Waiswa is a Ugandan photographer, living and working between Kampala, Uganda and Nairobi, Kenya. A storyteller, Sarah’s work focuses on identity (particularly New African Identity) and explores themes surrounding isolation and belonging. From the persecution of people with Albinism, to children practicing ballet in Kibera. In more recent work, in the long term project Kimbanguism, Sarah explores the Kimbanguist faith as an afro Christian movement but one rooted in resistance against a colonial regime that imprisoned their black messiah for 30 years. Her work has been exhibited around the world, most recently at the Tropen Museum in Amsterdam and also part of the group show “African Mētrópolis. An Imaginary city” at the National Museum of the 21st Century Arts in Rome.
