Session Host(s): Sara Catania, Solutions Journalism Network
Session Reporter (if not the host): Allie Vanyur, Lenfest Institute for Journalism
Participants:
- Sara Catania, Solutions Journalism Network
- Allie Vanyur, Lenfest Institute for Journalism
- Amy Kovac-Ashley, Lenfest Institute for Journalism
- Joy Mayer, Trusting News
- Jennifer Brandell, Hearken
- Bernardo Motta, Roger Williams University
- Letrell Crittenden, American Press Institute
- Julia Knoerr, Internews
- Antoine Haywood, Doctoral Student
Discussion:
- A lot of support organizations are doing great things, and we work together in small ways, but how can we leverage our work for a shared purpose?
- Frustrations: duplication, competition for funding, confusion among news organizations about who does what, branding problem.
- System is creating hostile competitive behaviors
- Competition is the result of past experiences, broken trust, partnership trauma
- The concept of an “organization” is hindering us from collaborating/serving the industry needs. Shift from organization mindset to organism mindset
- The more support organizations compete for money and attention from funders, the more that news organizations have to compete. They are often working in spite of the organizations that are supposed to support them.
- Money is getting stuck at the intermediary level and not trickling down to the news organizations
- More is not better, must work smarter
- What is the opposite of duplication?
- Support organizations need clearer strategies, pick a lane
- Tendency to grow/scale, mission creep, chase funding
- Jeff Jarvis philosophy for news orgs also applies to support orgs: do what you do best, link to the rest. We need to be ok with pointing to others
- Need for a real accounting of support organizations, without funders in the room
- There is a difference between collaboration and coordination. Our natural inclination is to collaborate and partner, but sometimes it is more useful to coordinate.
Core questions:
- What is the purpose of a journalism support organization? How are we useful?
- In other industries, they are called “service” organizations, how might that reframing change the way we approach our work?
- Capacity building (resources) vs capability building (skillsets)
- Most support organizations focus on capabailities
- How can support organizations create greater access for news organizations (especially smaller organizations) to get training and funding?
- How can support orgs work together to go to funders with a collective voice to make changes to funding practices?
- Don’t be a barrier,. How can we coordinate to create bridges, tunnels, onramps?
- How can we come together with a coalition of the willing to create a model os collaboration and coordination over competition?
- Top leadership needs to be on board, not just internal advocates
- How do we navigate the challenge of politics/ego?
- Willingness to share ideas, build trust, lay groundwork
- The purpose is not for us to succeed individually, but for the ecosystem to thrive
- Idea: annual convening for journalism support organizations
- Aspiration: mutual aid model, directory/clearinghouse
Concrete next steps:
- Write up notes + draft a values framework
- Identify who else should be involved, invite them to co-create the framework
- Start with an informal/open meeting, gauge interest, go from there