Cross-border collaborations become easier and more balanced

“By working alongside local journalists as equal partners — not as assistants or fixers — newsrooms can finally put to rest the practice of ‘parachute journalism’ and build longterm, mutually beneficial relationships.”

The barriers that prevented collaboration between newsrooms across the globe have been crumbling for years. In 2022, they’ll fall for good.

Many newsrooms used to consider global collaborations, or even regional ones, as logistical nightmares that required huge investments for uncertain returns — and better left to the big national publications. But the pandemic forced editors and publishers to rethink the logistics of gathering news. In the process, it lowered their reticence to work with others.

Technology has played a part. As much as we dread the now ubiquitous Zoom calls, they’ve become instrumental in demystifying collaborative work. A simple invite can bring together an entire team across multiple time zones, while messaging and free project management apps can keep the project on track until completion.

Improved processes have come hand-in-hand with a change in mentality: Covering a story so big that it directly affects every human on the planet has also helped newsrooms realize that there are stories that can be global in scope, but remain relevant to their local audience. In 2022, the increasing number of successful projects being published will entice more organizations to extend their hand to others and ask, “What else can we do together?”

As Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, noted recently, there’s a growing ecosystem of journalism collaboration, with Europe and Latin America leading the way, supported by organizations like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Solutions Journalism Network, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Projects that have been born out of those networks, like the Pandora Papers, will serve as a blueprint for others to attempt their own.

In addition to improving the depth and scope of their coverage, an increase in cross-border collaborations will continue to redefine the relationship between Western newsrooms and their counterparts in other parts of the world. By working alongside local journalists as equal partners — not as assistants or fixers — newsrooms can finally put to rest the practice of “parachute journalism” and build longterm, mutually beneficial relationships, particularly around topics like migration, climate change and diaspora communities.

The success of these new initiatives will require further transformations inside news organizations. Leadership must invest in employees with the language, logistical, and cultural skills needed to work with a wide variety of partners, which has to go hand-in hand with their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Some changes to the internal culture will be needed as well to accommodate for new workflows and other demands of collaborative work.

The pandemic gave added momentum to cross-border collaboration, but it won’t be the last story to have a global impact. Newsrooms need to continue to build bridges between them to match the size and complexity of the challenges they’ll report on.

The barriers that prevented collaboration between newsrooms across the globe have been crumbling for years. In 2022, they’ll fall for good.

Many newsrooms used to consider global collaborations, or even regional ones, as logistical nightmares that required huge investments for uncertain returns — and better left to the big national publications. But the pandemic forced editors and publishers to rethink the logistics of gathering news. In the process, it lowered their reticence to work with others.

Technology has played a part. As much as we dread the now ubiquitous Zoom calls, they’ve become instrumental in demystifying collaborative work. A simple invite can bring together an entire team across multiple time zones, while messaging and free project management apps can keep the project on track until completion.

Improved processes have come hand-in-hand with a change in mentality: Covering a story so big that it directly affects every human on the planet has also helped newsrooms realize that there are stories that can be global in scope, but remain relevant to their local audience. In 2022, the increasing number of successful projects being published will entice more organizations to extend their hand to others and ask, “What else can we do together?”

As Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, noted recently, there’s a growing ecosystem of journalism collaboration, with Europe and Latin America leading the way, supported by organizations like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Solutions Journalism Network, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Projects that have been born out of those networks, like the Pandora Papers, will serve as a blueprint for others to attempt their own.

In addition to improving the depth and scope of their coverage, an increase in cross-border collaborations will continue to redefine the relationship between Western newsrooms and their counterparts in other parts of the world. By working alongside local journalists as equal partners — not as assistants or fixers — newsrooms can finally put to rest the practice of “parachute journalism” and build longterm, mutually beneficial relationships, particularly around topics like migration, climate change and diaspora communities.

The success of these new initiatives will require further transformations inside news organizations. Leadership must invest in employees with the language, logistical, and cultural skills needed to work with a wide variety of partners, which has to go hand-in hand with their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Some changes to the internal culture will be needed as well to accommodate for new workflows and other demands of collaborative work.

The pandemic gave added momentum to cross-border collaboration, but it won’t be the last story to have a global impact. Newsrooms need to continue to build bridges between them to match the size and complexity of the challenges they’ll report on.

Joni Deutsch

Sarah Stonbely

Tony Baranowski

David Skok

Richard Tofel

Joshua P. Darr

Sarah Marshall

Brian Moritz

Jesenia De Moya Correa

Nikki Usher

Kerri Hoffman

Francesco Zaffarano

Joy Mayer

Cherian George

Jonas Kaiser

Millie Tran

David Cohn

Anika Anand

Megan McCarthy

Anita Varma

Parker Molloy

Candace Amos

Jessica Clark

Tamar Charney

Kristen Jeffers

Don Day

Paul Cheung

Larry Ryckman

Raney Aronson-Rath

Shalabh Upadhyay

Anthony Nadler

Melody Kramer

Julia Munslow

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

Mike Rispoli

Cindy Royal

Kristen Muller

Julia Angwin

Kendra Pierre-Louis

Sam Guzik

Izabella Kaminska

Wilson Liévano

Victor Pickard

Amy Schmitz Weiss

Andrew Freedman

Simon Allison

Jennifer Coogan

Mary Walter-Brown

Shannon McGregor & Carolyn Schmitt

Christoph Mergerson

Mandy Jenkins

Gabe Schneider

Joanne McNeil

Jim Friedlich

Matt Karolian

Janelle Salanga

Amara Aguilar

A.J. Bauer

Natalia Viana

An Xiao Mina

Alice Antheaume

Whitney Phillips

Joe Amditis

Mario García

S. Mitra Kalita

Errin Haines

Michael W. Wagner

Cristina Tardáguila

Gonzalo del Peon

Rachel Glickhouse

Gordon Crovitz

Burt Herman

Zizi Papacharissi

Eric Nuzum

Juleyka Lantigua

Tom Trewinnard

Moreno Cruz Osório

Simon Galperin

Stefanie Murray

James Green

Ariel Zirulnick

Doris Truong

Robert Hernandez

Ståle Grut

Laxmi Parthasarathy

John Davidow

Matthew Pressman

Stephen Fowler

Chicas Poderosas

Christina Shih

Catalina Albeanu

Matt DeRienzo

Kathleen Searles & Rebekah Trumble

Daniel Eilemberg

j. Siguru Wahutu

Chase Davis

Jody Brannon

Jesse Holcomb

Meena Thiruvengadam

Jennifer Brandel