A Beginning for Change

What if journalism can distinguish itself by the quality of change it facilitates? This is Change-Centric Journalism, my proposal to own change as intent. An idea born out of the conviction that the practice can restore value and trust by reframing our purpose beyond content. 

Thank you so much for your interest. I’m Jazmín Acuña, co-founder and editorial director of El Surtidor, a news outlet that somehow has managed to survive - and many times thrive - in an unlikely place: Paraguay. El Surti, as our audience fondly dubbed our organization (do you know any other news org that has its own nickname?), is the main source of inspiration for this proposal. 

In just one month since launching my Reuters Institute’s fellowship project, changejournalism.com has 70 subscribers, more than 1800 unique visitors and 5000 visits. These numbers matter to me because they reflect a need to have this conversation. 

In this first newsletter I want to focus on two things: the overwhelmingly positive response that the project has sparked and what comes next. If you'd like to know more about myself, I added my biography in the FAQ section. Also, I’ve designed a survey to learn what you want to read in this monthly newsletter. I’d appreciate your feedback. 

The impact of Change-Centric Journalism so far 

“Change-centric Journalism captures so much of what we’ve been grappling with internally and gives me language to frame the future of our humanitarian journalism in a way that is both functional and ambitious, while holding us accountable to the change we aim to inspire and foster."

“Journalism that does not want to count but wants to matter. Not clicks but consequences. Not scandals but structures. Jazmín Acuña asks the right question at the right time”

These are just a few examples of the outpouring of positive feedback Change-Centric Journalism has received. It’s hard to pick from all the comments, but I’ll highlight other very special ones. Samantha Ragland, senior VP and interim director of the American Press Institute, shared the framework and said that she dreams with the idea that journalism’s worth lies in the deliberate pursuit of impact. 

Nina Fasciaux, director of partnerships at the Solutions Journalism Network, also publicly endorsed the idea and reminded us that things like AI “are actually an opportunity to redefine what the value of journalism is.” You bet I agree with her. 

Janine Warner, co-founder of Sembramedia, made a heartfelt post about Change-centric Journalism on LinkedIn that drew A LOT of attention. Mattia Peretti and Open News featured the proposal in their amazing newsletters (see here and here), and the Knight Center’s Latam Journalism Review published an article. 

Founders, editors, directors and journalists from different corners of the world reached out with comments, some just to say thank you. Reassuring messages have come from Canada, the UK, Argentina, the US, Indonesia, Bangladesh, the Netherlands, Brazil, Denmark, India, Portugal and more! 

I take the enormous display of support and interest with a lot of gratitude. I’m humbled because I know journalism is a tradition-based practice. New ideas are not always welcome, and certainly others before me have raised similar propositions but they were not met with the same receptiveness. To me, it is a sign that our industry is in much need of hope and given the context, much more open to test and embrace new approaches.

What’s next for Change-Centric Journalism

This is one question I keep getting, and it isn’t easy to answer. How do you balance pushing a grand vision for the industry while co-leading a very ambitious newsroom in South America? I’m figuring it out. But the real question is whether this idea can fully materialize across our sector. I’m on a mission to find out. 

I’m holding meetups with potential allies for this vision. I’ve already held three with almost 100 colleagues, one with Sembramedia for a Spanish-speaking audience, one with Latam's Solutions Journalism Network and another one with Ajor, the largest network of digital outlets in Brazil. In September, there are two more upcoming for English-speaking audiences, one with the Impact Network and another one with the Oxford Climate Journalism Network. In October, I'll be at the Media Party in Buenos Aires and at IPI's Wold Congress in Vienna.

I’m also making myself more available to support journalists and newsrooms worldwide who want to incorporate this approach into their work. Some of this will be happening in the near future, which I'm very excited about. Although I can't share the details yet, you'll be among the first to know. 

Finally, I want to help build the infrastructure that can sustain journalism into the future. This is not only a matter of technology. More importantly, it is about the logic we apply to our practice. My desire is to continue designing the tools and methodologies that will enhance the value proposition of news. With Alejandro Valdez, one of my partners, I am looking for support.

What you can do for Change-Centric Journalism

I want to to do justice to the spirit of Change Journalism and not overwhelm this space with content. I will reach out once a month with updates. In the meantime, you can help me design this newsletter by filling out this very short survey. Tell me what you’d like to read. It'll take you two minutes, not more. 

Also, you can help by spreading the word and forwarding changejournalism.com to your contacts. And if some of what you've seen here has inspired you, please let me know. I want to build a repository with the different applications of the framework and share the knowledge.

That's it for now. Thank you for reading me, and until next time.