In this heightened time of disinformation, fake news and press attacks, accountability reporting has never been more important.
It is a critical public service that informs and illuminates citizens so that they can make educated decisions and lead productive lives. The ripple effect: healthier communities, better services, and a stronger democracy.
In 2018, after years of shrinking resources and budget constraints, look for a reinvestment of time, talent, and dollars into investigative journalism by news organizations large and small.
We will see increased efforts to dig deeper into local issues that impact communities and particularly underserved populations.
New programs — such as the Abrams Nieman Fellowship — that provide training, funding, and research support will multiply.
Unique partnerships and collaborative reporting across organizations — involving nonprofits, public media, startups, legacy outlets, universities, and regular citizens — will also flourish, giving local newsrooms the necessary resources to hold leaders and institutions accountable. The ProPublica Local Reporting Network is just one example, supporting investigative journalists in cities with populations below 1 million.
What will be exciting to see in 2018 is how watchdog projects will be done.
How will journalists tell and present their stories in novel ways? How will they engage the community around their findings? What would make their results most powerful, more accessible?
Readers, listeners, viewers are counting on local watchdog journalists to look out for their interests. The new year holds great promise for transformative work.
Mira Lowe is director of the Innovation News Center at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.
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Jarrod Dicker Honesty in advertising
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Claire Wardle Disinformation gets worse
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Alan Soon The rise of start of psychographic, micro-targeted media
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Michelle Garcia Navigating journalistic transparency
Alfred Hermida Going beyond mobile-first
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Mario García Storytelling finally adapts to mobile
Cristina Wilson The year of the Instagram Story
Dan Shanoff You down with OTT? (Yeah, DTC)
Amy King Let’s amplify visual voice
Molly de Aguiar Good journalism won’t be enough
Steve Grove The midterms are an opportunity
Lam Thuy Vo Breaking free from the tyranny of the loudest
Sarah Marshall Loyalty as the key performance indicator
Cory Haik Suffering from realness, pivoting to impact
Jassim Ahmad Thriving on change
Frédéric Filloux External forces
Ståle Grut Reclaiming audience interaction from social networks
Corey Johnson The pro-fact resistance
Raju Narisetti Mirror, mirror on the wall
Jennifer Coogan The future is female
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Daniel Trielli The rich get richer, the poor scramble
Pablo Boczkowski The rise of skeptical reading
Debra Adams Simmons And a woman shall lead them
Matt Thompson Here come the attention managers
Mike Caulfield Refactoring media literacy for the networked age
Pete Brown Push alerts, personalized
Carrie Brown-Smith Transparency finally takes off
Ray Soto VR reaches the next level
Zizi Papacharissi Women come back
Amie Ferris-Rotman More female reporters abroad (please)
Sydette Harry Listen to your corner and watch for the hook
Betsy O'Donovan and Melody Kramer Skepticism and narcissism
Valérie Bélair-Gagnon Seeking trust in fragmented spaces
Rodney Gibbs Tech workers turn to journalism
Trushar Barot The Jio-fication of India
Emma Carew Grovum Newsroom culture becomes a priority
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Richard Tofel The platforms’ power demands more reporters’ attention
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Vivian Schiller Pivot to tomorrow
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Sara M. Watson Feeds will open up to new user-determined filters
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Bill Keller A growing turn to philanthropy
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