As the network of the world’s journalists, editors and media leaders, the International Press Institute (IPI) has been busy, reimagining journalism with 2020 vision.
Since 1950, IPI has endured as the global forum for journalists and editors to discuss among themselves the challenges and opportunities of press freedom and the journalism that sustains democracy. As journalism and media have been shaken by change, we’ve been supporting news leaders grappling with disruption, working with our network in defence of human rights, and identifying ways of strengthening journalists’ voices.
Now, it’s time to bring our work together in a new consolidated programme that identifies what our network needs to take on to support independent journalism at a global scale.
We’re at a moment of reckoning — and a moment of affirmation.
The disruptive change in journalism has been gradual and accumulative, step by step, sometimes slow, sometimes accelerated by crisis, as it has been through the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s changing how we do journalism, how we fund it and how our audiences behave. At the same time, the threat to press freedom and democracy has been growing as populist and authoritative governments take hold.
Now, more than ever, the work of the IPI Global Network matters as journalism transitions to an uncertain future and we rebuild its resilience to withstand the many challenges it faces, from disinformation and the digital disruption to the lure of authoritarianism.
We’ve long focussed on press freedom and news independence, fighting for the rights of journalists to pursue journalistic quality. Now, we also turn our focus to ensuring that the best of journalism endures in this century, whether it’s keeping our local communities in touch, advancing investigative reporting, building new digital media or helping our traditional media remain sustainable in the digital transition.
As IPI celebrates its first 70 years, we are launching the Global Journalism Project to reaffirm journalism as a core pillar of our democracy, to re-imagine it to fit today’s needs and tomorrow’s hopes, to build the resilience it needs to remain independent.
It’s about journalism: about how we make it sustainable, how we secure the space for independent journalism. How we continue to make it relevant and of value. It’s about the principles and values that should guide our craft through this cultural reset and digital transition. It’s about ensuring the craft continues to attract and retain both the best talent, and the respect and trust of the communities we serve.
It’s about truth: about how journalism understands its role in a polluted information ecosystem and how it cuts through mis-information and dis-information to give our communities the facts they need.
It’s about press freedom: about how global solidarity through the network sustains the universal principles of human rights that support journalism and meets the needs of journalists and communities on the front line of attacks on these principles.
It’s about the strength of the IPI network: about how we can deliver on our promise to our members and our mission to secure independent journalism. It’s about ensuring the network is inclusive and welcoming to diverse news media, that each member experiences the support, solidarity and collective wisdom of being part of a global movement for independent journalism.
#JournalismNow! because we can:
- Unlock the resources available in the IPI network and bring them to the members who need them, generating an ongoing exchange of skills and experiences.
- Lead the needed industry wide collaboration through the network of journalists and editors who are driving change;
- Lean into our values of strong, independent journalism, pluralism and diversity and press freedom in a democratic society in the context of an evolving media and journalism landscape.
- Raise awareness of how IPI network members are doing high-quality civic journalism, ensuring our communities have access to the information they need and finding new ways to work to ensure a sustainable news media.
Through the Global Journalism Project we will:
- Connect journalism through activities that respond to members’ needs, including training, webinars, expert conversations, coaching and mentorship programmes, newsroom visits and consultancies, drawing on the unique resources available within the IPI network.
- Promote great journalism, recognizing in particular the work of IPI members, at a national and international level, as a key tool to inform our communities and counter propaganda and disinformation.
- Celebrate global engagement for independent journalism that has been at the core of IPI for decades, by committing to a strong and representative IPI global network, by working with National Committees at the local level and tracking member needs and journeys as we facilitate support through the network.
- Put the IPI World Congress at the centre of the project, where journalists and editors from around the world gather to focus on the values and promise of independent journalism for the next 70 years;
- Understand the needs of the moment to design programmes to help build sustainable media for the 21st century, and to share insights and advice to guide external media support.
- Share information and ideas about successful strategies adopted by IPI members to gather and disseminate public interest news, and ensure the best analysis and actionable insights on journalism are widely shared .
- Reinforce the core principles and values that have guided the IPI network in the past 70 years and redefine them to fit the next 70. Build solidarity within the network around IPI’s press freedom advocacy.
A newly created Independent Journalism Fund will provide the backing for the Global Journalism Project and will be built through sourcing dedicated donations and grants as well as a portion of the fees paid by IPI members. (The balance of member fees will go to the IPI Press Freedom Fund. Both the Independent Journalism Fund and the Press Freedom Fund are supervised directly by the IPI Executive Board.)
