Scroll ahead for recommendations of journalism events, stories and toolkits.
Those not in a hurry, stay for some thoughts following a short trip to Prague, where I spent a couple of days for the awards ceremony of the European Press Prize. I first visited Prague in 2002, just a few weeks after the terrible floods that pushed the Vltava over its banks. There was still damp furniture in the streets, and water stains on buildings all around. And yet, I was amazed. I was 21, and although I had visited a few European cities by then, it was the first time I was struck by the difference between this one and Bucharest, where I had been living since 1999. I remembered being mesmerized by Prague’s cult of Franz Kafka, by all the mugs and souvenirs you could buy of the bridges, the castle, the clocktower and so on (and buy I did), but also about the ease with which I got around, even though the language was tricky.
This is what I came away with: a city proud of itself, and clarity. I found both to still be there – I really enjoyed the animated map and audio guidance in all modern trams.
Bucharest still feels behind. We are voting for mayor today (and voting in the EU elections, too). While I couldn’t read all the journalism done on the local races, I still feel like very few of my concerns were reflected in the coverage. Journalists went after the politicians’ money – rightly so –, fact-checked their CVs, their political allegiances, poked at their strategy, and made fun of their slip-ups.
But what about my street? Or your park?
Air quality? What about garbage collection?
What about signage? Or information on trams?
What about the local bureaucracy? What about taxes?
What about the future?
What about fitting strollers on sidewalks taken over by cars?
What about being an inclusive city?
*
There’s little of that because we’re in an age of rage.
Journalists and powerful figures – autocrats, bureaucrats, business leaders, and others – are fighting. Journalists are indeed under threat. It’s a tough time to do this work, some say the worst ever – almost 110 were killed in Gaza; 103 of those were Palestinian. Others are declared enemies of the state, hit with SLAPPs, threatened. No wonder we’ve taken on a siege mentality.
Everything is a war zone – including local elections. It's just that, and I don’t know how to say this, this battle is different. And the citizen in me doesn’t find the journalist as combatant useful; I would much rather have the journalist as a chronicler of a potential better future. Is there any hope for my city, and where is it coming from? Who is making a difference, and how can I? What is being a mayor really about – can he even do a quarter of the things he’s promising? Can we do something together? Can someone tell me how long change takes? Can anyone encourage me to believe in it?
I love Prague. But I also – in a perverted way – still love Bucharest (we are at least, in a very complicated co-dependent relationship). Is it OK to want more from it? And can you, dear journalist, help me with that?
*
This is partly the under-story to many of the conversations I’ve had recently – both in Prague, and with the people I interviewed for my capstone project at CUNY, which is called Why does our newsroom exist? Building blocks for a journalism of connection and hope. I’ll share it in full soon, but I just turned it in and want to get some feedback before I put it out.
In short, I’m exploring answers to some of the tensions above. And how is it that we are doing some of the best journalism ever, and we still feel like we must fight for every reader or viewer? Can we mix hard-hitting #holdtheline resistance with a journalism of connection, relationships, solutions, and hope? Can you innovate and grow and try new things when you wake up every day ready for a fight?
*
UPLIFTING CEE MEDIA
Some of those questions have driven a few of us who know our region – me, Peter Erdely, Patrick Boehler, and Boryana Dzhambazova – to ponder what news leaders in Central & Eastern Europe need so they can tackle this volatile moment.
You might remember a survey I shared recently. More than 60 of you responded, with input that deeply resonated. In summary, the survey showed that securing diversified funding is the most critical challenge for journalism in the region. But many organizations also face income insecurity and staffing issues (including burnout), which impacts operational efficiency, and arguably prevents them from better serving the needs of their publics. Media leaders also said they are eager to leverage technology and explore new formats, but they struggle with resistance to change, and the dizzying pace of technological development.
While we are dreaming of a more fully-fledged offering – call it a mini-MBA, or a fellowship, or a leadership development program – we did want to pilot something responding to the needs mentioned above. So we put together a series of four 90-minute Zoom conversations, all *free* to attend. The conversations all include three or four inspiring leaders and experts from the region, and from around the world.
🔹 Funding: How CEE newsrooms built successful revenue streams (June 18).
🔹 Org Culture: The power of clarity – Why defining your team’s expectations is a winning move (June 19).
🔹 Product: How much/what tech do we really need in a post-social/post-search world? (June 21).
🔹 Mental health: How to build a newsroom culture of resilience (June 26).
I’ve linked to all four individually, because you should sign up for *separately* for each.
What I am hosting is the one on adding more clarity to our organizational structures, and I’ll be joined by three world-class thinkers in this space:
Federica Cherubini, Reuters Institute, on how to onboard for success;
Isabelle Roughol, The Lede, on how to think of newsroom career ladders;
Laura Krantz McNeill, The Chronicle of Higher Education, on what skills modern newsroom managers need to pick up.
Would love to see you there and talk through things with you!
*
EUROPEAN PRESS PRIZE INSPIRATION
For the past two years I’ve been chairman the of the EPP’s Preparatory Committee, which means that 20 amazing colleagues from around Europe put up with my moderation and hosting as we read through 800 submitted stories to narrow it down to five finalists in each category. (The Jury then chooses the winners).
It’s not an easy role for any of us, but it’s a fulfilling one. Every time we feel down about the state of journalism, reading the best of it out there is a cure.
Below I’m sharing the six winners of this year, and four other favorites; find the full list of nominees here.
1. How Europe Outsourced Border Enforcement to Africa. The European Union is militarizing Africa’s internal borders to curb migration, with little regard for human rights.
2. Kazakhstan-Xinjiang, the Border of Tears. For the survivors of the Xinjiang concentration camps, leaving the camps is rarely a liberation; now, they must learn to live again and navigate a life where their traumas are not recognized.
3. Lapdogs of War: A Guide to Russia’s Wartime Oligarchs. The richest Russians – the so-called oligarchs – have received billions of dollars in defense contracts, producing, among other things, the weapons used to kill civilians in Ukrainian cities.
4. Iraq Without Water: The Cost of Oil to Italy. Oil fields in Iraq extract crude oil using water diverted from rivers. Their profits have multiplied since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. But the city of Basra has no water or electricity.
5. We Have Betrayed a Generation. Children need tenderness, touch, affection, shelter and protection. But what about the elderly?
6. 1000 Lives, 0 Names: The Border Graves Investigation. What happens to those who die in their attempts to reach the European Union? How are their lives marked, how can their families honor them?
7. “All That We Had Is Gone”: My Lament for War-Torn Khartoum. Since Sudan’s capital was engulfed by violence, life there has been all but destroyed. As we tried to get family members to safety, the ruination of my former home became hard to fathom.
8. Pride and Concrete. 10 Years Later. These Romanians have sacrificed the comfort of a hard-earned life in Western Europe for the sake of the tradition of social competition, which forces them to build themselves a luxury life in their home villages – a life they will, most likely, never get to live.
9. Thousands of Hospital Patients Are Dying from Terrible Infections. Year after year, Hungarian hospitals report an increasing amount of serious and even fatal hospital-acquired infections, but the reality is even worse than what the official data shows.
10. Where the World Splits Apart. A travel along the border to Russia from Norway to Georgia, crossing eight nations, eight societies, eight stories.
*
TAKE MORE CARE
Many of the stories above will give you enough reasons to be angry about the state of the world. So it’s fitting that my last recommendation for today would be about ways to practice a different muscle: care.
You met jesikah maria ross, who has been working for years at the intersection of journalism, art and community development, in an earlier letter, where she was a helpful guide for thinking through a difference theory of change for journalism. Here’s hers:
I think my theory of change is that you get people to care with each other by bringing them together and sharing experiences in a way in which they feel such care that they open up to connecting, and by connecting they see their common humanity or where they have common values or needs, and they like each other or something happens that they’re willing to care with each other, do stuff with each other.
jesikah has helpfully put her ideas of care-informed journalism practices in a handbook, which you can download here.
Her ideas are the backbone of a kind of journalism that would likely also make me feel more hopeful and more involved as a citizen. The Center for Cooperative Media has distilled six takeaways from jesikah’s guide, three of which I’ll share below, for inspiration:
Start with listening: Before diving into reporting, spend time understanding the community’s needs, aspirations, and challenges. Listening sessions can provide critical context and demonstrate how you will treat people’s stories with fairness and respect.
Share power: Collaborate with your sources and partner organizations, allowing them to help shape the narrative. This not only enhances the story’s authenticity and builds trust, it generates resources and relationships that can help communities thrive over time.
Prioritize care: Create environments that support the well-being of your sources, community partners, and reporters. This includes eliciting everyone’s goals, setting clear expectations, being transparent, checking-in, and providing resources.
SIDE DISHES:
Since we’re in list mode, here’s a few other things to think about / add to your arsenal:
Natalia Antelava, editor of Coda Story, thinking through similar issues: in a world of disinformation and propaganda, how do you rise above the noise?
Erika Owens making an important point about modern newsrooms: that a socialist approach can work in building stronger organizations — we can, in fact, “blend solidarity values and financial sustainability”.
This toolkit on doing trauma-aware journalism, from the Dart Center.