Over the past year, I’ve interviewed more than 50 people for a research project on civil society/journalism collaboration. Though not (yet?) very common in the U.S., projects involving both journalists and civil society organizations — usually advocacy groups, though not always — are a fast-growing trend globally. A subset of collaborative journalism, these projects are almost always topic-driven; corruption, climate change, and women’s health appear to be the most common subjects. Moreover, it’s usually investigative journalism projects that gain the most benefit from partnering with civil society groups.
Why is this cross-field collaboration growing now? At least three developments have converged:
While the benefits are somewhat straightforward, these partnerships are obviously not without complications. As part of this project, we’ve cataloged more than 180 journalism/civil society collaborations, and the issues to be worked through vary, depending on the geography of the partners involved, cultural differences, and workflow, to name just a few.
It’s clear that the rules and norms that defined journalism for decades are shifting. We’re seeing new alliances being formed to allow journalism to live up to the ideals that are still at its heart.
Sarah Stonbely is research director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.
Over the past year, I’ve interviewed more than 50 people for a research project on civil society/journalism collaboration. Though not (yet?) very common in the U.S., projects involving both journalists and civil society organizations — usually advocacy groups, though not always — are a fast-growing trend globally. A subset of collaborative journalism, these projects are almost always topic-driven; corruption, climate change, and women’s health appear to be the most common subjects. Moreover, it’s usually investigative journalism projects that gain the most benefit from partnering with civil society groups.
Why is this cross-field collaboration growing now? At least three developments have converged:
While the benefits are somewhat straightforward, these partnerships are obviously not without complications. As part of this project, we’ve cataloged more than 180 journalism/civil society collaborations, and the issues to be worked through vary, depending on the geography of the partners involved, cultural differences, and workflow, to name just a few.
It’s clear that the rules and norms that defined journalism for decades are shifting. We’re seeing new alliances being formed to allow journalism to live up to the ideals that are still at its heart.
Sarah Stonbely is research director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University.
Gonzalo del Peon
Richard Tofel
Natalia Viana
Kristen Muller
Ariel Zirulnick
Laxmi Parthasarathy
Parker Molloy
Izabella Kaminska
Jim Friedlich
Michael W. Wagner
Don Day
Joshua P. Darr
Anita Varma
Francesco Zaffarano
Sarah Marshall
Rachel Glickhouse
Doris Truong
Joanne McNeil
Zizi Papacharissi
Brian Moritz
Juleyka Lantigua
S. Mitra Kalita
Andrew Freedman
Stephen Fowler
Simon Galperin
Mike Rispoli
Stefanie Murray
Amy Schmitz Weiss
Amara Aguilar
Julia Munslow
Paul Cheung
Gordon Crovitz
Melody Kramer
Whitney Phillips
Anthony Nadler
John Davidow
Jonas Kaiser
Jesenia De Moya Correa
Chase Davis
Julia Angwin
Errin Haines
Jessica Clark
Tamar Charney
Ståle Grut
Cristina Tardáguila
Alice Antheaume
Rasmus Kleis Nielsen
Kendra Pierre-Louis
Nikki Usher
Mario García
Kathleen Searles Rebekah Trumble
Kerri Hoffman
Eric Nuzum
Meena Thiruvengadam
Jennifer Coogan
Chicas Poderosas
Moreno Cruz Osório
Mary Walter-Brown
Simon Allison
Janelle Salanga
Gabe Schneider
Burt Herman
Victor Pickard
Catalina Albeanu
Robert Hernandez
Larry Ryckman
Shannon McGregor Carolyn Schmitt
An Xiao Mina
Cindy Royal
David Skok
Tom Trewinnard
Tony Baranowski
Matt Karolian
Jody Brannon
Candace Amos
Christoph Mergerson
Wilson Liévano
Anika Anand
Megan McCarthy
Christina Shih
Sam Guzik
Jennifer Brandel
Matthew Pressman
A.J. Bauer
Matt DeRienzo
Shalabh Upadhyay
James Green
Cherian George
Jesse Holcomb
Raney Aronson-Rath
j. Siguru Wahutu
Mandy Jenkins
Millie Tran
David Cohn
Sarah Stonbely
Kristen Jeffers
Daniel Eilemberg
Joe Amditis
Joy Mayer
Joni Deutsch