Rising Like a Phoenix: Developing a New Journalism That Builds Community

 

The following is a transcript of the video above, from our webinar on “Remaking the Economy: Information, the Media, and Economic Justice.” View the full webinar here.

 

Darryl Holliday: I think one thing I’m hearing from all of us—and I hear this even beyond this group, I think there’s a network forming—is that we’re talking about journalism as community-building. You know, we use journalism as a tool but we’re organizers; we’re educators; we’re facilitators; we’re on-demand investigators. I’m thinking about Outlier in particular.  

 

I’m not big on the whole “save journalism” rhetoric. I think there are a lot of parts of it that don’t need to be saved. But this broadening of the field and how we talk about journalism—who can be one?—I think that’s what’s going to save journalism. 

 

So when we talk about the ecosystem, I think acknowledging that journalism is not just this ivory tower bestowing accurate records of the draft of history upon the public is one of the first steps. We’re a part of our ecosystem. We’re one piece of this thriving network that has challenges. And we have a responsibility to engage with the people who are doing the work of finding solutions. 

 

I’m not sure I answered the question exactly, but I think what we’re talking about is redefining or reframing what journalism looks like in this time when the entity is in crisis. It’s falling apart over here, and it’s like a phoenix on this other side. It’s growing, it’s evolving, and changing.