“…to change the world for the better.”
December 16, 2021
[Graphic: Smaranda Tolosano]
Global Investigative Journalism Network
#GIJN
Nobel Winner Muratov: Be an Investigative Reporter, and Fight for a Better World
By Rowan Philp
“Asked why young people should become investigative reporters, Muratov’s response was simple: to “change the world for the better.”
In his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize, Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Russia’s leading independent outlet, Novaya Gazeta, said: “The award today goes to the entire community of investigative journalists.”
Four days later — in a webinar interview with GIJN — Muratov set out the true stakes for investigative journalists with whom he shared that high honor: “Investigative journalism is the most important mission for humankind, because investigative reporters are not letting people steal the future from us.”
“At the time of his interview with GIJN, Muratov was visiting radio journalism colleagues in his birth place — the town of Samara, on the Volga River.
Asked whether the international spotlight of the Nobel Peace Prize afforded independent media in Russia some added protection against state persecution, Muratov said he didn’t know. However, he said the award had transformed Novaya Gazeta into a perceived sanctuary for civic problems.
“There’s much more work for me now, because I personally get hundreds of emails — people are requesting help with medicine, court hearings, apartments, and childhood diseases,” he said. “This award has turned into a new job for me, and, to be honest, I’m happy with that.”
Muratov said the impact from investigative reporting — from fired officials to changed policies and influencing voters — is not only important for improving lives, but also for preserving the careers and energy of the journalists.
For Muratov, the talent and motivation for effective watchdog reporting is likely already present in many autocratic societies — and said young people in authoritarian countries should consider that their talents might be wasted in government service. The key, he says, is for journalists to have each other’s backs.
“It’s solidarity,” he said. “What is my hope? — I hope to cooperate with the international network of investigative journalists, like GIJN.”
“…building a public infrastructure where everyone is trained to “commit acts of journalism.”
Darryl Holliday, co-founder of and director of the news lab at City Bureau, a civic journalism nonprofit in Chicago
He writes: “The solution to the current crisis in journalism isn’t simply to save jobs, but to willingly and intentionally democratize the means of journalistic production.” Holliday’s vision is one of faith: in the potential of journalism, and the idea that our fellow community members want to join in. “The profit-driven side of local journalism may be in freefall, but infrastructure for a more public, participatory, community-driven, trustworthy, accurate, and representational news ecosystem is readily available.”
Holliday’s vision is one of faith: in the potential of journalism, and the idea that our fellow community members want to join in. “The profit-driven side of local journalism may be in freefall, but infrastructure for a more public, participatory, community-driven, trustworthy, accurate, and representational news ecosystem is readily available.” And in the end, what other choice do we have?
—Savannah Jacobson, story editor
Journalism is a public good. Let the public make it.
Ivory-tower journalism has failed. It’s time we focus on building public infrastructure where everyone can find, factcheck, and produce civic information
Long Night Moon
Full Moon in Gemini is Saturday, December 18, at 9:35PM Mountain Standard Time (MST)
Known as the Cold Moon or the Long Night Moon, it is the closest to the Solstice or the longest night of the year. This moon is a good time for necessary personal reflection on where you have been, what you have learned, and where you wish to go from here, so you can prepare to release the old on the Solstice, and begin to plan, organize and bring in what you truly want on this expansive platform.
It is good time for dreaming, sharing, and opening up your optimism, all the while using your personal truth as a point of reference. A focus on relationships can bring emotional realizations, either bringing people closer together or drifting them apart.
The need for balance emerges as not only something to consider but something to include.
We study and embrace the balance between intuition and thought, information and wisdom, doing and being, action and patience, community and personal time.
Use this full moon time as a preparation for Solstice and to practice optimism, hope, truth and curiosity.
-Lena
Power Path
Winter Solstice
The winter solstice happens on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, 8:59 AM MST.
Think of it this way: Although the winter solstice means the start of winter, it also means the return of more sunlight. It only gets brighter from here!
This is all thanks to Earth’s tilted axis, which makes it so that one half of Earth is pointed away from the Sun and the other half is pointed towards it at the time of the solstice.
-The Almanac
birth of the sun
