“Trust without trust.” So where do people really turn when they believe no one? This was the title and the question of a panel discussion at this year’s Donbas Media Forum, where IRMI was a programme partner. Angelina Soldatenko, a trainer and the head of our organisation, spoke on the panel about trust and regional media.
Who do people trust? Friends and neighbours, naturally, and local online chats. But are local media part of that circle? Can they build relationships with their audiences founded on quality content and transparency? Showing them how is what our programmes are for. Almost all of them are aimed at local and hyperlocal media, for whom the war has been a severe test.
Small newsrooms work under constant security threats, information operations, targeted disinformation campaigns and high social tension. They are short of staff, equipment and money. Yet a small newsroom must not only produce quality content but also show its audience how that content is made. Fifteen regional newsrooms are now preparing, with our support, for certification under the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). For Ukrainian media, JTI is more than a certificate. Above all, it is a practical model for developing as an organisation, and a way of proving to audiences that a newsroom can be trusted.
Mobile journalism is one of our strategic priorities. We run MOJO training, equip newsrooms and support them with mentoring. At the forum, our colleague Yuriy Vasyliev, a MOJO trainer and expert, ran a mobile journalism workshop in the Safety Corner together with Mick Reed, founder, producer-director and video journalist at MiMojo. The workshop was built around one-to-one consultations and participants’ questions. Together with Fondation Hirondelle, we supported the session and the interpreter who worked alongside it.
What did journalists who shoot video want to know? Equipment and shooting came first: which microphones to choose, the merits of different equipment and the practicalities of filming on a smartphone. Then editing: participants asked to be shown techniques on their own phones. One newsroom, whose equipment was damaged by strikes nearby, needs further training in smartphone production. So there is more to discuss after the forum.
With Fondation Hirondelle, we were also partners of a panel with a provocative title: “Shoot or Disappear: Media in the Age of Video-First, Platforms and Creator Journalism”. The discussion ranged over video content, the battle for audiences that media do not always win as a source of news, transformation, the gap between small and large newsrooms, and much else that either breaks us or makes us stronger. For smaller newsrooms, mobile journalism is part of the answer: a smartphone shot taken on the spot can be worth more than studio quality.
“Once again, the Donbas Media Forum brought together Ukrainian media professionals, and it was an impressive gathering. I was proud to see how much enthusiasm there was for IRMI’s mobile journalism concept and the equipment that comes with it. It shows that regional newsrooms are ready to adopt new, flexible ways of working, even in the most difficult conditions.
Just as important were the discussions about trust: how media can regain the trust of their audiences where it has been lost, and how they can keep it where it still exists. This is a question that goes to the heart of what journalism is for.
And one thing must be said clearly: the safety of Ukrainian journalists is more important than ever.”
— Mogens Schmidt, Head of the Board, IRMI
Our thanks to the Media Forum, and to our colleagues and friends, for lively debate, inspiration and fresh perspectives. See you next time.
