Photo: Journalist in training in East Timor, taken by Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
by Dean Edwards, Democracy Watch News
Collaboration between media organizations, such as Indian Voices and Democracy Watch News, requires recognition of best standards, practices, and recognition of the goals and purposes of the organizations involved. Add in cultural differences and the need for thoughtful communication becomes the key principle in a media alliance.
A quarter of a century ago, as the 1990s moved to a close, the San Jose Mercury-News laid off their interns and announced staff reductions would follow in response to the challenges that came with the development of online news. By the beginning of the new century, journalism would undergo profound changes which affected career plans and development for journalists.
The closing years of the twentieth century raised questions about compensation and survival for reporters, newspapers, and periodicals. Advertising revenues and subscriptions began to decline in the uncertain Internet environment. Media consolidation added pressures. Independent news outlets began to fail as larger corporations absorbed more and more of them.
Journalists soon discovered fewer opportunities were available for career advancement with a single employer. Independent and freelance journalism expanded while reporters developed strategies for survival by establishing relationships with multiple outlets.
Some news outlets began to explore media collaboration with other independent outlets. More flexible business models arose to safeguard careers in journalism.
Reconsidering and identifying key factors required fresh analysis emphasizing cultural determinants. For Native Americans people, this meant beginning afresh and reimagining fundamentals according to traditional values.
Democracy Watch News, based in Salem, Oregon, works with editors and correspondents around the world. The news service has its own global experience, enabling consolidated views about best media practices and ethical standards.
It adheres to proven styles for journalism that boosts audience engagement. These form a toolkit to draw upon:
• Ethical journalism
• Solutions journalism
• Narrative journalism
• Purpose-driven journalism
New media practices combined with journalism fundamentals for the new millennium:
• Media collaboration
• Collaborative decision-making
• Civic, community, and audience engagement
• Integrated-media technologies
News editors, officers, and boards of directors implemented these principles and practices as they began to define 21st century journalism.
Deutsche Welle, journalism.co.uk and the Society for Professional Journalists developed and gathered data about the effectiveness of principles and practices delineated above.
How Indian Voices describes its own set of proven methods and implements them will draw value from native sources. The two news services will report progress in cross-cultural collaboration as it develops to our readers, viewers, and listeners.
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