Cross-border collaborations become easier and more balanced

“By working alongside local journalists as equal partners — not as assistants or fixers — newsrooms can finally put to rest the practice of ‘parachute journalism’ and build longterm, mutually beneficial relationships.”

The barriers that prevented collaboration between newsrooms across the globe have been crumbling for years. In 2022, they’ll fall for good.

Many newsrooms used to consider global collaborations, or even regional ones, as logistical nightmares that required huge investments for uncertain returns — and better left to the big national publications. But the pandemic forced editors and publishers to rethink the logistics of gathering news. In the process, it lowered their reticence to work with others.

Technology has played a part. As much as we dread the now ubiquitous Zoom calls, they’ve become instrumental in demystifying collaborative work. A simple invite can bring together an entire team across multiple time zones, while messaging and free project management apps can keep the project on track until completion.

Improved processes have come hand-in-hand with a change in mentality: Covering a story so big that it directly affects every human on the planet has also helped newsrooms realize that there are stories that can be global in scope, but remain relevant to their local audience. In 2022, the increasing number of successful projects being published will entice more organizations to extend their hand to others and ask, “What else can we do together?”

As Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, noted recently, there’s a growing ecosystem of journalism collaboration, with Europe and Latin America leading the way, supported by organizations like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Solutions Journalism Network, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Projects that have been born out of those networks, like the Pandora Papers, will serve as a blueprint for others to attempt their own.

In addition to improving the depth and scope of their coverage, an increase in cross-border collaborations will continue to redefine the relationship between Western newsrooms and their counterparts in other parts of the world. By working alongside local journalists as equal partners — not as assistants or fixers — newsrooms can finally put to rest the practice of “parachute journalism” and build longterm, mutually beneficial relationships, particularly around topics like migration, climate change and diaspora communities.

The success of these new initiatives will require further transformations inside news organizations. Leadership must invest in employees with the language, logistical, and cultural skills needed to work with a wide variety of partners, which has to go hand-in hand with their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Some changes to the internal culture will be needed as well to accommodate for new workflows and other demands of collaborative work.

The pandemic gave added momentum to cross-border collaboration, but it won’t be the last story to have a global impact. Newsrooms need to continue to build bridges between them to match the size and complexity of the challenges they’ll report on.

The barriers that prevented collaboration between newsrooms across the globe have been crumbling for years. In 2022, they’ll fall for good.

Many newsrooms used to consider global collaborations, or even regional ones, as logistical nightmares that required huge investments for uncertain returns — and better left to the big national publications. But the pandemic forced editors and publishers to rethink the logistics of gathering news. In the process, it lowered their reticence to work with others.

Technology has played a part. As much as we dread the now ubiquitous Zoom calls, they’ve become instrumental in demystifying collaborative work. A simple invite can bring together an entire team across multiple time zones, while messaging and free project management apps can keep the project on track until completion.

Improved processes have come hand-in-hand with a change in mentality: Covering a story so big that it directly affects every human on the planet has also helped newsrooms realize that there are stories that can be global in scope, but remain relevant to their local audience. In 2022, the increasing number of successful projects being published will entice more organizations to extend their hand to others and ask, “What else can we do together?”

As Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University, noted recently, there’s a growing ecosystem of journalism collaboration, with Europe and Latin America leading the way, supported by organizations like the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, Solutions Journalism Network, and the Global Investigative Journalism Network. Projects that have been born out of those networks, like the Pandora Papers, will serve as a blueprint for others to attempt their own.

In addition to improving the depth and scope of their coverage, an increase in cross-border collaborations will continue to redefine the relationship between Western newsrooms and their counterparts in other parts of the world. By working alongside local journalists as equal partners — not as assistants or fixers — newsrooms can finally put to rest the practice of “parachute journalism” and build longterm, mutually beneficial relationships, particularly around topics like migration, climate change and diaspora communities.

The success of these new initiatives will require further transformations inside news organizations. Leadership must invest in employees with the language, logistical, and cultural skills needed to work with a wide variety of partners, which has to go hand-in hand with their diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Some changes to the internal culture will be needed as well to accommodate for new workflows and other demands of collaborative work.

The pandemic gave added momentum to cross-border collaboration, but it won’t be the last story to have a global impact. Newsrooms need to continue to build bridges between them to match the size and complexity of the challenges they’ll report on.

Joanne McNeil

Simon Allison

James Green

Doris Truong

Mary Walter-Brown

Kathleen Searles & Rebekah Trumble

Parker Molloy

Jesse Holcomb

David Cohn

Chicas Poderosas

Rachel Glickhouse

Laxmi Parthasarathy

Megan McCarthy

James Salanga

Izabella Kaminska

Alice Antheaume

Joshua P. Darr

Stefanie Murray

Joni Deutsch

Jesenia De Moya Correa

Joe Amditis

Zizi Papacharissi

Kendra Pierre-Louis

Tony Baranowski

Daniel Eilemberg

Julia Munslow

Gonzalo del Peon

Mandy Jenkins

Victor Pickard

Anika Anand

Nik Usher

Mario García

Kristen Muller

Candace Amos

Christina Shih

Jonas Kaiser

Julia Angwin

Matthew Pressman

Francesco Zaffarano

A.J. Bauer

Paul Cheung

Jim Friedlich

Stephen Fowler

Mike Rispoli

Melody Kramer

Gordon Crovitz

Juleyka Lantigua

AX Mina

Amy Schmitz Weiss

Raney Aronson-Rath

Cherian George

Sarah Marshall

Anthony Nadler

Cindy Royal

Shannon McGregor & Carolyn Schmitt

Michael W. Wagner

Brian Moritz

Richard Tofel

David Skok

Andrew Freedman

Errin Haines

Burt Herman

Sam Guzik

Gabe Schneider

Natalia Viana

Catalina Albeanu

John Davidow

Meena Thiruvengadam

Moreno Cruz Osório

Shalabh Upadhyay

Tamar Charney

Ståle Grut

Tom Trewinnard

Chase Davis

Jody Brannon

Matt Karolian

Christoph Mergerson

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen

j. Siguru Wahutu

Millie Tran

Cristina Tardáguila

S. Mitra Kalita

Matt DeRienzo

Don Day

Larry Ryckman

Jennifer Brandel

Joy Mayer

Ariel Zirulnick

Sarah Stonbely

Jessica Clark

Anita Varma

Wilson Liévano

Amara Aguilar

Whitney Phillips

Jennifer Coogan

Eric Nuzum

Kristen Jeffers

Robert Hernandez

Kerri Hoffman

Simon Galperin