Good journalism

We work with public interest media that seek to inform public debate with content that is inclusive and diverse to question discriminatory societal norms, stereotypes and taboos. The journalism we support makes it possible for people to make informed decisions and hold those in power to account. This includes coverage of public interest issues such as equality, climate and environment, justice, rights and corruption and includes a strong focus on efforts that promote gender equality.

IMS is committed to using good journalism to counter political disinformation, low-quality sensationalist news and poor journalism, alongside incitement to violence from extremist groups and narratives that seek to radicalise individuals and suppress progressive voices.

We capacity build public interest content production through a collaborative approach in which our programmes are driven by local needs and are anchored in the local contexts through the partners. This ranges from supporting rural community radio and journalists in exile, to those pioneering new content types and digital formats or ways of working such as investigative, constructive and cross-border collaborative journalism. IMS also applies a catalytic approach, bringing together partners and stakeholders for local, national and regional cooperation where it does not already exist. We also offer solidarity, advice, connections and networking: building bridges between the technological and media development worlds, and between partners and the agencies that can support them.

IMS offers a holistic approach andsupport tailored to local contexts, following an effectuation theory approach of making do with what is available. We createmeaningful actionsthat maximise digital technologies so that our media partners feel more confident in the business side of their operations.

We take a lifecycle approachfrom inception to growth or digital transition and consolidation. IMS’ support can help independent media become progressively more self-reliant through income diversification, new products and formats, better audience knowledge and data usage. We work with partners to leverage relationships they’ve built with their audiences and find products and services that ultimately strengthen those relationships.

IMS works to reduce the digital dividefor those operating in fragile or politically pressured environments. This relies on local expertise.With digital front runners, we work on agile solutions through action research for future-oriented responses that leverage technological advances and data-informed decision making.

IMS supports feminist perspectives to business viability and the development of inclusive workspaces, free from discrimination and harassment by creating the space for women to organise both internally in organisations, as well supporting women’s media organisations to engage in dialogues in an enabling environment.

Changes in our digital environments have had detrimental effects on public interest media and journalists’ ability to work. We have witnessed the exponential growth in disinformation and online hate speech, societal polarisation, undermined business models for local news production, the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the Rohingya genocide in Myanmar – fostered by the monopolisation and privatisation of data, knowledge and moderation among a few American and Chinese companies.

Our long-term vision is that our digital environments are enabled and upheld by public interest infrastructures – a set of digital tools that are explicitly designed to serve the public interest rather than any political, commercial or factional interest.

With our partners, we develop and test innovative solutions for content production and distribution. We generate data and knowledge about how the current digital infrastructures affect societies and local communities, in particular those who are most marginalised. And we gradually build momentum for developing locally anchored digital alternatives built to serve quality journalism and the public interest.

This is an emerging area of work within IMS. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have ideas, comments or see potentials for synergies or collaborations.

IMS seeks to help our partners to inform members of the publicand foster dialogueabout issues that shape their lives in ways that serve the public rather than any political, commercial, or factional interest. Our work is linked to international human rights standards related to media and free expression.

We work to provide better access to quality journalism through improved reach and user experiences leading to steady growth in engagement. To achieve this, we encourage user gratification modelsand audience research in editorial strategy development.

We are keen to learn about audience discovery and new audience engagement techniques – amplifying content outside of existing echo chambers.

IMS applies an intersectional gender equalityperspective. We support work to reach vulnerable and marginalised communities – including children and youth.. We  use public interest journalism to enable participation in public life by closing the information gap often seen in the media access of marginalised groups and underserved communities.

Together with partners, we work to ensure the participationand empowermentof remote populations and rural communities, low income-earners, the unemployed, youth, ethnic and religious minorities, LGBTQIA+ communities, internally displaced people (IDPs), and people affected by humanitarian crises.

Media can help amplify the voices of marginalised groups and encourage participation, with specific emphasis on giving audiences the opportunity to shape their own narratives through the use of popular media tools at their disposal.