Journalism that seeks a transition from communicating only “for” to communicating “with”. Some practical proposals

Abstract

The recovery of local journalism, especially from the hand of digital native initiatives of proximity, many of them hyperlocal, shows us a way to rethink journalism: the neces-sary combination of communicating "for", the objective with which a good part of the legacy media and some native media have been born, and communicating "with" with-out renouncing the principles and elements of journalism. It is not easy, because the multiple influences of the local actors involved in the projects, although it is a virtuous circle of relationships that improves results, also implies threats to the independence of the media –the ability to make decisions with autonomy and with the sole guiding principle of compliance with the principles acquired by the media of service to the community– and can become, in certain contexts, a vicious circle. Without downplaying the risks, several investigations of the digital journalism team of the Novos Medios re-search group have shown that some experiences show that it is possible to explore ways of greater involvement of audiences and walk with them in common objectives that lead to better information and higher quality journalism. The commitment to this path implies a review of information strategies and a practical demonstration of the ability to involve the communities for which the information is provided in the path of participation and co-creation of initiatives and content for these media.