🔶 #49: "Make me feel something"

Hello and welcome back to the News Alchemists newsletter!

And a first welcome to new subscribers from The Trace, Grist, Corriere della Sera, Rappler, Scroll, Tinius Trust, Internews, Souhtpoint Access, Deutsche Welle, and all of you brave souls working independently.

It's 2026! How did you celebrate moving into the new year? Did you travel somewhere?

I was in Italy for 10 days over Christmas, and then I came back to London to enjoy some glorious albeit freezing sunny days, and catch a nasty cold because what best way to start the new year than by coughing and sneezing? 😑

But I'm back on my feet, right in time to send you seven hope-filled links – including some predictions for 2026 that stood out to me among the maaaany I've come across.

(Maybe twelve months from now someone will come up with something more original than Predictions or a Wrapped copycat, but not this time.)

An update from the Growth team

Before we get to the links, I owe you an update – paired with an enormous THANK YOU if you're one of the 15 amazing humans who decided to support my work on News Alchemists with a donation 🙏

The goal I had set for myself was "25 supporters by the end of the year", so technically:

But I really can't see this as a failure. 15 people decided that the work I'm doing with this newsletter is worth their money. (On average, about 45 dollars.) That does not make me a successful entrepreneur, but it's not nothing.

It's confidence that this work has value. It's a reward for the hours I spent trying to make these emails unique and useful. And most of all, it's motivation to find more and new ways to be of value to you.

Bring it on, 2026. We've some good work to do together.

See you next week! 👋

1. Make me feel something 👉 LINK

The best prediction I read this year might be one that never made it into the sleek collections by Nieman Lab or JournalismUK. 🧞Millie Tran wrote it on her Notes app during her baby's nap time. And I say you should read it:

Build for people, not platforms. Build for feeling, not formats.

2. Journalism actually shows up 👉 LINK

That is not to say there are no gems in the Nieman Lab predictions, though. This one from 🧞Andrew Losowsky is a great example:

There’s an oft-used phrase in public health: “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.” In 2026, many local journalism outlets will regain people’s trust by showing up in their communities, providing valuable information in ways that truly reflect their needs. This is the year we prove that we care.

3. Journalism for everyone: Inside Austria’s inclusive newsroom 👉 LINK

🧩 andererseits is an Austrian media startup that aims to tell socially relevant stories from diverse perspectives. It focuses in particular on the perspectives of people with disabilities, but it doesn't just report on them: half of the people in the team have a disability.

The bigger ambition is cultural: To show that inclusive journalism isn’t a niche experiment but a stronger way of reporting. As [editor-in-chief] 🧞Lisa Kreutzer puts it: “Inclusive journalism isn’t charity or activism – it’s better journalism. Different perspectives make better stories, and better stories create a healthier democracy.”

4. The future of news is happening where no one is looking 👉 LINK

Another prediction that gave me hope, from 🧞Garry Pierre-Pierre, founder of 🧩 The Haitian Times:

If you want a glimpse of the future of news, don’t look at dashboards or innovation labs. Look at the barbershop, the church hall, the group chat, the neighbor who becomes a newsroom by necessity. That’s where the future is already taking shape.

5. Journalism is a profession of care and connection 👉 LINK

I'm not sure why I waited so long to listen to the keynote that 🧞Nina Fasciaux gave at last year's b° future festival.

That's a lie, I know why:

Don't be like me and listen to it now. It's just 15 minutes and very inspiring.

6. The pedestal we’ve placed “journalism” on will crumble. And that’s brilliant. 👉 LINK

I didn't say that I was done with sharing predictions, right? This one is from 🧞Jakob Moll, international director of 🧩 Zetland.

I’m not advocating abolishing journalism as a concept. Getting journalism off its pedestal is a starting point for an honest exploration of journalism’s underlying value. Please, not for “society,” but for the living, breathing citizens that we hope to be relevant for. That we hope will rely on us in their attempt to understand their society and world.

7. Engaging your community becomes cool again. 👉 LINK

Closing with a collection of something that starts with 'P' and ends in '-ictions'... These are from the MDIF team, and delightfully short. My favourites are at the bottom of the set, those by Ana and Mayuri.

Seven links are not enough? How about 250+? 🤓

Psst... if you are still here, I want your opinion

You probably didn't notice, but I added a touch of colour to the News Alchemists website:

Every edition I sent last year is now accompanied by a photo I had taken in the seven days before sending that email.

The photos are not related to the content of the newsletter; they are just a way to add a little something to a website that was (and honestly still is) quite boring.

What do you think? Yay or nay? Give me a thumbs-up or thumbs-down to let me know – or comment to tell me what you think.

_{📸 The header image is not connected to the content of the newsletter. Just a photo taken by me to add a little colour.}