Have you ever heard about media outlets such as Bloomberg, Reuters, or CNN? What about The New Humanitarian, HumAngle, or Devex?
A few months before I started my career as a news reporter at one of these media outlets, I became familiar with the term “humanitarian journalist”, introduced by Martin Scott, Kate Wright, and Mel Bunce in their book “Humanitarian Journalists: Covering from a Boundary Zone.” This concept still makes me wonder about the reality of my dream career. Academics juxtapose “regular” journalists, employed in the world’s biggest newsrooms, with humanitarian journalists—professionals committed to change and development goals.
As explained by the researchers, humanitarian journalists are driven by a unique set of values. They focus on reporting under-reported crises, adding value, and amplifying marginalized voices (Scott, Wright, Bunce 2022: 62). They operate somewhere between the fields of journalism, communication for development, and humanitarian work, doing their best to make a positive impact. They are often NGO employees or freelancers who enjoy the freedom to choose their reporting methods and, most importantly, the topics they cover.
Wait… As a Reuters employee, am I not committed to positive change and adding value? Well… there is no easy answer. Reuters journalists operate within the company’s principles and operating standards. The news is produced quickly and accurately, and all journalists are required to write with high standards of credibility—transparent sourcing is the core of our daily work. However, the dynamic pace of our work often doesn’t allow us to dive into topics relevant to communication for development, and the length and style of our stories are dependent on business requirements.
On the other hand, humanitarian journalists focus on reporting on the “forgotten” crises that conventional media outlets tend to ignore (ibid: 3). They are not simply spreading breaking news; they focus on the voices of people affected by conflict. They are involved in long-term coverage and provide in-depth analysis of the chosen topics, which is crucial in a world of fake news, disinformation, and information overload.
In this rather complicated media landscape, we have to learn how to take the best from both worlds. While following the breaking news from the biggest media outlets keeps us well-informed and up-to-date, sometimes we have to dig a little deeper to understand the real nature of the conflict and see the faces of the people impacted by it. I hope that after reading this post, you’ll find some time to visit:
- https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org
- https://www.devex.com
- https://humanglemedia.com
- https://www.ipsnews.net
- https://www.justearthnews.com
If you know more websites for humanitarian journalists or you’d like to share your experiences, please let us know in the comment section!
Stay tuned!