News Alchemists #25: "Why we need networked journalism in an age of complexity and uncertainty"

Hello and welcome back to the News Alchemists newsletter!

Last week, I spent quite some time exploring the Digital News Report – and based on my LinkedIn timeline, I was far from the only one. I was curious to know what others were finding most interesting/relevant/urgent, so I asked:

💬 What's in your opinion the most important chart in the report and why?

I started by sharing my own answer, which won't surprise you one bit if you've been reading this newsletter:

What happened next reminded me that sometimes it's still possible to experience the magic that social media always promised us: dozens of people from all across the world talking together about something they care about – and learning a lot from each other in the process.

💬 Morten and Erika replied with their own favourite insights, pointing to how news consumption is often very different country by country, and to an encouraging willingness to pay for news podcasts.

💬 Charlie chimed in with a comment that will sound familiar to you, as it's exactly what I said a few editions ago: we really need to stop calling it 'news avoidance'. And the many replies to his comment show how much people agree, which is great, but also how nuanced the issue is.

💬 Cécilia advocated for the value of 'feel-good' journalism; Michaël reflected on what would happen if journalism reported on itself as harshly as it does with other industries who negative affect people's emotions; and many others added their own reflections on the report.

💬 Last but not least: Isabelle and Khalil replied to say they had written their own posts focusing on the same chart – here and here – leading to a great number of interesting conversations under their posts as well.

And that's me sharing a bajillion links before I even get to the seven links (sorry, not sorry 🤷‍♂️). I do it because these conversations made me feel hopeful and, as always, I want to share that hope with you.

The Digital News Report reminds us every year that our industry is not in great shape. But it also points to a lot of opportunities to do better – if only we decide to see them – and brings us together so that we can help each other spot those opportunities and make journalism more helpful for the people we aim to serve.

See you next week! 👋

1. Why we need networked journalism in an age of complexity and uncertainty 👉 LINK

"Ask yourself, does your journalism add authenticity, immediacy, verification, context, personalisation, human interest, even entertainment? If it does, it will succeed. All the shiny data visualisations in the world won’t work unless they get attention and provide useful, accessible added value. [...] We have to learn a whole new set of skills, a whole new relationship with the the public – above all we need to create value and then find the payment processes to make that sustainable."

Makes sense, right? Journalism that provides value to people and that reframes its relationship with them. You probably read it many times in this newsletter already. The thing is, this article was written by LSE professor and JournalismAI director (and my former boss) 🧞Charlie Beckett... in 2011.

We have known what to do for a long time. What's stopping us?

(Read the rest of the article to find more nuggets that will make you want to fact-check my assertion that this article is almost 15 years old and not written yesterday – like this one: "We are in an age of uncertainty, not just for journalism but for the environment we operate in – politics, economics, personal lives. It’s all much more unstable, less predictable and more fluid.")

2. How to Toronto: Our no-BS guide to city living 👉 LINK

Local news can be very different and very better (not a typo, it's called 'poetic licence') and much more useful than what we're used to – and 🧩 The Green Line is among the best out there at showing how.

Last week they released their first 'pocket guide', designed to help Torontonians make the most of their city – including tips on getting around the city safely;* lists of hiking trails to enjoy nature, and the best third spaces to find community; recommendations on 'how to deal with your landlord', for example in the case of an eviction notice; and even a cost of living calculator. All delivered in an easy-to-use PDF with links to explainer videos, interactive maps, and even a Spotify playlist of songs and artists that best define Toronto.

I think I am professionally in love.

[Correction: I was already in love with The Green Line since I first encountered their About page that includes 'to help you become happier in your city' as part of their mission statement. Imagine journalism that literally makes it its mission to make you happier.]

*Did you know that Toronto has a network of underground pedestrian tunnels and elevated walkways that extends for 30 kilometres?? Maybe I've been living under a rock but I didn't.

3. If our stories do not reach and inform people, that probably means we are failing to adapt, not that they are. 👉 LINK

A LinkedIn post by a breaking news reporter at a big publication opens with this statement and gets 1,000+ likes and assorted positive reactions: "There is an urgent need for people to learn media literacy."

I start fuming the moment I read that first line because STOP BLAMING THE AUDIENCE FOR OUR OWN SHORTCOMINGS.

Thankfully, before I start typing a combative comment, I read this one already posted by 🧞Belle de Jong that makes my point... with a much more polite and constructive tone: "I actually believe that blaming readers for 'not understanding how journalists work' is the main mistake mainstream media make in trying to tackle mistrust and news avoidance."

4. Civic space is closing: How local journalism can open it up 👉 LINK

Rule of thumb: 🧞Jennifer Brandel writes something >>> you go and read it ASAP.

"What if newsrooms focused less on just reporting out what’s happening, hoping that when things aren’t great people will magically find the time and space to self-organize to improve conditions, and instead proactively help people find one another and create stronger interpersonal community relationships? Some may bristle at this idea, thinking that the job of journalism is solely to provide information but not try to make anything happen. If that’s you, I’ll ask the question that my new journalism crush Shirish Kulkarni offers to those who worry about advocacy: 'Are you saying that you want people to do absolutely nothing with the information you give them? Because that sounds like a shit job.'"

5. The 200th edition of The Continent News just went to 31,000 subscribers. How did we survive five years? 👉 LINK

🧩 The Continent is an award-winning pan-African weekly newspaper, designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp. In this post, co-founder and publisher 🧞Sipho Kings shares a list of 27 things that helped the success of the publication – divided in newspaper-specific, organisational, and human. Personal favourites:

"Design is an essential element of quality journalism, as significant as the reporting itself when it comes to signalling quality and trustworthiness."

"Curation beats personalisation. There is enormous power in getting your community reading from the same page. And readers are exposed to ideas they may have not chosen to click on."

"This is just a job. Make it fun and impactful, but IRL is where the good stuff is and life is short."

6. The FT untangles tension between editorial, product teams 👉 LINK

There's been a lot of talk in the last decade about 'bridge roles' and their importance for connecting departments that often struggle to communicate with one another. 🧞Hannah Sarney holds such a role as editorial product director at the 🧩 Financial Times, connecting audience, product, and editorial. In this excellent interview, she beautifully explains the value of bridge roles – and much more.

"Language matters so much. But the key point is it’s not just getting the right words, it’s making sure that we all understand. What is that vision? What direction are we all trying to go in? Can we keep it in mind when we come up with new ideas? [...] My role is more about change management and sometimes simple, sometimes supercharged, facilitation. The line that I’ve shared with people is that I’m there to facilitate collaborative problem solving across the departments."

7. This ’90s-esque social media site only works for three hours a day 👉 LINK

Usual curveball at number seven: doomscrolling is the plague of our time, with most social platforms designed to keep you hooked for as long as possible, right? Well, can I interest you in a new social media that literally has opening hours like a physical shop and the equivalent of a 'CLOSED' sign on the door if you try to open it outside such hours?

This might be just a fun gimmick that won't scale but the question for us remains: how might we imagine products and experiences that provide people with just the information they need to navigate their lives, rather than trying to get them to spend as much time as possible on our apps and websites?

(The social media is called seven39 because 7:39 pm ET is when it opens every day. Why 7:39? The domain was available.)

What is this newsletter?

The relationship between journalism and the people it aims to serve is broken. But we can heal it if we learn to put audiences and communities at the centre of everything we do. The News Alchemists newsletter wants to help you to do just that.

Every week I share seven links to give you some hope and to introduce you to the many smart, kind, and courageous people (🧞) who strive every day to use journalism as a force for good in society – and to the organisations (🧩) that show us that a different journalism is possible, and profitable.

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