In an era of an unprecedented rise of social media, where we are overwhelmed daily with all kinds of information – half-truths, post-truths, fake news, disinformation – it is very important to have media rooted in ethics and committed to bringing positive change to this chaotic world. In the everyday fight for clicks and survival, we know how challenging this is.
We are witnessing an absurd paradox: despite the abundance of media, the media sphere has never been more threatened than it is today. Everything is instant, fast-paced; we are obsessed with ‘doomscrolling’, our brains struggle to absorb all the information. We have evolved as a civilisation, but to what extent have our levels of ethical, moral and justice-oriented consciousness evolved?
It is precisely because of these challenges that programmes such as Western Balkans Media for Change are important. They provide the needed resources, capacity building, knowledge and networking, and offer serious support to media outlets like Face to Face, which upholds ethics as a core principle. This support enables us to remain dedicated to community engagement, growth and development in the right direction. Bringing a new idea to the table was reason enough for us to innovate. However, with the support of this programme, we were enabled to go a few steps further and implement what we knew we needed.
Over the past nine months, we organised five ‘content-harvesting’ workshops. We visited over ten places, many of them rural, where Face to Face had little to no prior presence – either as a brand or as a media outlet. We engaged over 30 young people in creating stories, photographs, illustrations, and activities at a local level. We engaged new colleagues who significantly reshaped Face to Face’s digital content. We published two printed editions in which the new young energy of Face to Face redefined both the design and concept of our publication, making it more appealing to younger audiences. We also engaged young volunteers, a creative network of illustrators, designers and IT experts for the development of our web platform. We established partnerships with similar organisations, media outlets, companies and informal groups, which, I believe, will continue to evolve even beyond these ten months of the implementation of our project.
All these data are not just numbers in our ‘to-do’ list, they represent the impact we have made in the communities where Face to Face has reached, multiplying concentric circles of co-operation and ethics through media content. This ‘enabling’ and promotion of collaboration, partnerships and open spaces for co-creation is perhaps Face to Face’s greatest strength. We continue not only to inform but also to inspire action – often beyond the framework of traditional journalistic formats. At the same time, we remain true to our mission, to our vendors who hold a high-quality product in their hands, and to journalistic ethics, providing high-quality content which maintains the trust of our audience.
We are proud that our inbox is regularly filled with suggestions from people with diverse knowledge and skills, and who see Face to Face as their ‘media space’. We have also experienced many moments of reflection, which are always important when planning new aspects of work. We have proven our ability to engage and activate, but also to educate the community, helping each other become better people who contribute to positive social change.
My personal opinion was that, for a long time, we were inspiring change in the social sphere of our mission, but less so in the media sphere. Therefore, we’ve conducted an extensive process of self-evaluation and published the Transparency Report of the Journalism Trust Initiative. Face to Face is positioned as a non-conventional media outlet, being a street paper and a member of the International Network of Street Papers. However, with the publication of the transparency report we also became part of the global community of ethical and professional media outlets in the world.
Face to Face is an important convener – an activator. In this capacity, our workshops have been essential in creating spaces for promoting positive ideas, fostering innovation, enabling open discussions and the inclusion of different voices. We have also transformed this into a digital format. Through the Face to Face website, people can get involved, tell stories, report, show and activate themselves …
We have focused on different groups whose potential we rarely see. Additionally, we have been addressing taboo topics, reporting on environmental issues and sharing stories that evoke both chills and hope.
Maja Ravanska, Managing Editor, Face to Face