An investigative reporter from a city in central Mexico uncovered unsavory links between a notorious cartel member and the Mexican government. The piece was meticulously reported. The trouble was, the editor refused to publish it for fear of the consequences. But the story didn’t die there.
The journalist was part of the Connectas investigative journalism network formed in 2013. Connectas links gumshoe reporters across the Americas, who collaborate on cross-border stories. Incensed by his boss’ refusal to touch the story, the reporter offered it to Mexican journalist Carmen Aristegui, who is not intimidated by the authorities. When the three-part series finally ran in Aristegui Noticias, it made headlines nationally and across the region.
In the coming year, it will be even harder to suppress the news thanks to regional investigative journalism alliances. These groups are tackling perilous subjects that know no borders, such as human trafficking, drug smuggling and money laundering. As the networks expand, the protection of information increases. And expanding they are in Latin America, the former Soviet bloc and Africa. Increasingly, U.S. news organizations are joining in, a trend that will intensify in 2018.
At first, these networks were formed to collaborate on transnational stories involving crime and corruption. They came into their own with the groundbreaking Panama Papers project. These regional groups were also designed to protect vulnerable journalists. How so? By publishing stories in multiple countries, the network would deflect attention from a single reporter or news organization. This really matters in countries where journalists can be attacked with impunity.
What these groups soon discovered was that they were not only protecting journalists, but also protecting information. If stories can be shared through the network, journalists can bypass major media owners who are cozy with the government or small newsrooms that are vulnerable to serious threats. This sharing of news circumvents self-censorship.
There is tremendous power in this growing network. As journalists join forces, they ensure their exposés will not be easily spiked. On top of that, an increasingly diverse group of funders sees the value in supporting these cross-border alliances.
Here’s to a year when journalists band together and counter suppression as never before.
Joyce Barnathan is the president of the International Center for Journalists.
Kawandeep Virdee Zines had it right all along
Jennifer Brandel and Mónica Guzmán The editorial meeting of the future
Francesco Marconi The year of machine-to-machine journalism
Laura E. Davis Writing answers before you know the question
Errin Haines At the ballot, it’s time to count black women
Eric Nuzum Beyond the narrative arc
Steve Grove The midterms are an opportunity
Adam Thomas Sharing is caring: The year of the mentor
Juliette De Maeyer A responsible press criticism
Jim Moroney Newspapers have to be good enough for readers to pay for
Richard Tofel The platforms’ power demands more reporters’ attention
Andrew Losowsky The year of resilience
Alan Soon The rise of start of psychographic, micro-targeted media
Hannah Cassius The year of the echo-chamber escapists
Mike Caulfield Refactoring media literacy for the networked age
Jamie Mottram From pageviews to t-shirts
Raju Narisetti Mirror, mirror on the wall
Jassim Ahmad Thriving on change
Caitlin Thompson Podcasting models mature and diversify
Julia B. Chan Looking for loyalty in all the right places
Susie Banikarim R.I.P. Pivot to Video (2017–2017)
Charo Henríquez Training is an investment, not an expense
Vivian Schiller Pivot to tomorrow
Tamar Charney We get serious about algorithms
Andrew Haeg The year journalists become relationship builders
Dheerja Kaur Fun with subscription products
Imaeyen Ibanga Longform video leads the way
Pablo Boczkowski The rise of skeptical reading
Helen Havlak Keywords, not publishers, power the world’s biggest feeds
Matt Carlson Attacks on the press will get worse
Mary Meehan Real lives are at stake in rural areas
Emma Carew Grovum Newsroom culture becomes a priority
Nushin Rashidian Publishers seek ad dollar alternatives
Niketa Patel Live journalism comes of age
Trushar Barot The Jio-fication of India
Rubina Madan Fillion Unlocking the potential of AI
Marie Gilot No assholes allowed
Caitria O'Neill The new court of public opinion
P. Kim Bui The reckoning is only beginning
Molly de Aguiar Good journalism won’t be enough
Corey Johnson The pro-fact resistance
Andrew Ramsammy The year ownership mattered
Tanya Cordrey Finally, the seeds of radical reinvention
Taylor Lorenz Social and media will split
Yvonne Leow The rise of video messaging
Jared Newman Venture funding and digital news don’t mix
Nicholas Quah Stop talking trash about young people
Joanne Lipman Journalists inventing revenue streams
Kathleen McElroy Building a news video experience native to mobile
Raney Aronson-Rath Transparency is the antidote to fake news
Craig Newmark Working together toward sustainable solutions
Cory Haik Suffering from realness, pivoting to impact
Kyle Ellis Let’s build our way out of this
Miguel Castro The arrival of the impact producer
Bill Keller A growing turn to philanthropy
Cindy Royal Your journalism curriculum is obsolete
Jennifer Coogan The future is female
An Xiao Mina Memes and visuals come to the fore
Evie Nagy Pivot to mobile video frustration
Monika Bauerlein The firehose of falsehood
Mariano Blejman News games rule
Brian Lam Sketchy ethics around product reviews
Mariana Moura Santos Think local, act global
Mario García Storytelling finally adapts to mobile
Rodney Benson Better, less read, and less trusted
Borja Echevarría TV goes digital, digital goes TV
Dan Shanoff You down with OTT? (Yeah, DTC)
Will Sommer The year local media gets conservative
Matt Boggie The intellectual equivalent of the Dead Sea
Millie Tran and Stine Bauer Dahlberg (Hint: It’s about your brand)
Luke O'Neil The end is already here
Sydette Harry Listen to your corner and watch for the hook
Gordon Crovitz Serving readers over advertisers
Lucas Graves From algorithms to institutions
Ernst-Jan Pfauth Publishing less to give readers more
Rick Berke Value is the watchword
Mary Walter-Brown Show a little vulnerability
Aron Pilhofer We can’t leave the business to the business side any more
Lanre Akinola Making noise is not a strategy
Nicholas Diakopoulos Fortifying social media from automated inauthenticity
Rachel Davis Mersey AI, with real smarts
Amy Webb Listen to weak signals
Mi-Ai Parrish Blockchain and trust
Joanne McNeil Gatekeeping the gatekeepers
Juleyka Lantigua Women of color will reclaim and monetize our time
Carlos Martínez de la Serna The new journalism commons
Jesse Holcomb Information disorder, coming to a congressional district near you
Heather Bryant Building the ecosystems for collaboration
Sam Sanders Shine the light on ourselves
Rodney Gibbs Tech workers turn to journalism
Alastair Coote The year of self-improvement
Justin Kosslyn The year journalists become digital security experts
Tim Carmody Watch out for Spotify
Kim Fox Audience teams diversify their approach
Jessica Parker Gilbert Design connects storytelling and strategy
Vanessa K. DeLuca Women’s voices take center stage
Umbreen Bhatti The trust problem isn’t new
Kristen Muller The year of the voter
C.W. Anderson The social media apocalypse
Monique Judge Letting black women tell their own stories
Alexios Mantzarlis Moving fake news research out of the lab
Federica Cherubini The rise of bridge roles in news organizations
Cristina Wilson The year of the Instagram Story
Nikki Usher The year of The Washington Post
José Zamora Revenue-first journalism
Rachel Schallom Better design helps differentiate opinion and news
Ståle Grut Reclaiming audience interaction from social networks
Michael Kuntz The only pivot that might work
Frédéric Filloux External forces
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen The Snapchat scenario and the risk of more closed platforms
Corey Ford The empire strikes back
Jarrod Dicker Honesty in advertising
Mira Lowe The year of the local watchdog
Kinsey Wilson Facebook and Google: Help out or pay up
Debra Adams Simmons And a woman shall lead them
Amy King Let’s amplify visual voice
Claire Wardle Disinformation gets worse
Eric Ulken The year local publishers get smart(er) about change
Tanzina Vega It’s time for media companies to #PassTheMic
Sam Ford The year of investing in processes
Valérie Bélair-Gagnon Seeking trust in fragmented spaces
Michelle Garcia Navigating journalistic transparency
Joyce Barnathan It will be harder to bury the news
Pia Frey Address users as individuals
Hossein Derakhshan Television has won
Sally Lehrman Trust comes first
Alfred Hermida Going beyond mobile-first
Manoush Zomorodi Self-help as a publishing strategy
Matt DeRienzo A recession, then a collapse
Christopher Meighan Passive partnership is in the rearview
Edward Roussel Eyes, ears, and brains
Matt Thompson Here come the attention managers
Dannagal G. Young Stop covering politics as a game
Pete Brown Push alerts, personalized
Renée Kaplan The year of quiet adjustments (shhh)
Feli Sánchez The year for guerrilla user research
Damon Krukowski Reviving the alt-weekly soul
Carrie Brown-Smith Transparency finally takes off
Michelle Ferrier The year of the great reckoning
Elizabeth Jensen Show your work
David Skok Finding an information-life balance
Ruth Palmer Risks will grow for news subjects — especially minorities
Amie Ferris-Rotman More female reporters abroad (please)
Lam Thuy Vo Breaking free from the tyranny of the loudest
Tracie Powell The muting of underserved voices
Daniel Trielli The rich get richer, the poor scramble
Ray Soto VR reaches the next level
Marcela Donini and Thiago Herdy Collaboration is the way forward for Brazilian journalism
Felix Salmon Covering bitcoin while owning bitcoin
Basile Simon We need better career paths for news nerds
Mandy Velez texting is lit rn, fam
Sara M. Watson Feeds will open up to new user-determined filters
Jacqui Cheng Retailers move into content
Alice Antheaume Are you fluent in AI?
Zizi Papacharissi Women come back
Jim Brady With the people, not just of the people
Emily Goligoski Looking beyond news for inspiration
Sarah Marshall Loyalty as the key performance indicator
Jennifer Choi Standing up for us and for each other