Collaborative investigative journalism website, allowing citizens to participate in the news process
Allows Citizens To Participate In The News Process
About You
About You
First Name
Phillipe
Last Name
Trindade
Twitter URL
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Organization Website
Organization Country
Brazil, PR
Country where this project is creating social impact
Brazil, PR
Is your organization a
Not registered
How long has your organization been operating?
Please select
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Collaborative investigative journalism website, allowing citizens to participate in the news process
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Idea (you're poised to launch)
How long have you been in operation?
Still in idea phase, but looking to launch soon
THE NEED: Describe the need for your solution and the size/dynamic of the community (ies) you will engage
The need for this project becomes evident when traditional media fails to report and/or cover facts, developments, problems, movements etc when it doesn't fit their interests and that of their owners and their business and political partners.
As for size/dynamic of the community the website will engage, we'll be based in Curitiba, a medium sized brazilian city, with approx. 1.7 mi people, counting it's satellite cities. Also, this project could easily be installed in any other city/community with widespread internet access.
THE SOLUTION: Please explain what your solution offers and how it is innovative. How will you put your solution into the hands of users or beneficiaries? Be specific!
A collaborative investigative journalism website that posts videos and other news basing its stories with citizens' help to get some of the their problems solved or at least included on the community's agenda. The innovation is precisely the website's interactivity, allowing news to be suggested and chosen directly by the readers.
THE MODEL: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference through use of information technology and media
Curitiba's City Hall is currently trying to remove people from their homes in Vila das Torres, so tourists won't see the slums (favelas) when they arrive for the World Cup. Traditional local media is not covering properly these facts and the local alternative media is still incipient. This website would contribute with the social awareness of this and other issues, possibly generating discussion and pressure upon the government.
No matter how big or small the problem is (The World Cup or a basic neighbourhood problem - as lack of water supply), publicizing it may be a way to find out solutions.
THE MARKETPLACE: Who are your peers and competitors? What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Our 'competitors' are, actually our allies. Other alternative, social and internet media feed off of each other in order to cover facts that are usually ignored by the central midia.
Our challenges are actually setting up a financial model and the popularization of our website itself! Existing alternative media channels are able to maintain themselves through publicity revenues. However, we are searching for different revenue sources since we don't want to create alliances between our website and corporations.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
FOUNDING STORY: We want to hear about your “Aha!” moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution’s potential to change the world.
I guess our "Aha!" moment was when we realized we could merge our academic, professional and social aspirations and convictions.
Since I started journalism school I had plans to create an investigative journalism magazine or newspaper. Then I started to experience and study the impact of the web on information technology and journalism itself. In parallel, I became involved in studant politics and had a lot of contact with social movements, NGOs, political parties and other organizations.
That is when I met my partner, Beatriz. We united our vision to formulate a media outlet that would be democratic, have a social impact and yet keep us finantially afloat. 'All we needed' was to combine citizen media with social media (as in Facebook) and journalism!
Specify both the depth and scale of your solution’s social impact to date
Unfortunately we are still on the 'idea' phase.
What is your projected impact within the next 1-5 years? Is your idea replicable? If so, how?
The project's goal is to give voice to whomever wants/needs it.
Our projected impact for the next five years is to have allowed thousands of citizens to have their problems and interests on the city's agenda. There is a wide demand from the people to publicize their needs in order to get the executive, legislative and judiciary powers to focus on their needs without the presence of lobbies, political favors, financial gain or bribes (very common in our country).
The idea is replicable anywhere with widespread internet access.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and mark growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
In 6 months time, at least one of our articles should be replicated by local central media.
Six-Month Tasks
Task 1
Get finantial support
Task 2
Registering and creating the website
Task 3
Start receiving suggestions, investigating them, writing stories and publicizing them
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Have a 'popular initiative' proposition started from one of the stories on the website
12-Month Tasks
Task 1
Cover a story which's possible solution is to pass a new law or modify an existing one
Task 2
Get the citizens involved and participating
Task 3
Start the 'popular initiative' proposition process and publicize it
How many people have been impacted by your project?
Please select
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
1001‐10,000
Sustainability
Explain how your company, program, service or product is structured
Hybrid model
What barriers have hindered the success of your project to date? How do you plan to overcome these and other challenges as you grow your solution?
We're only starting, but we plan to create not only the website, but a hybrid organization to represent and raise funds for this and future citizen media projects.
How do you see the information-technology and media sectors shifting over the next decade? How will your solution adapt to and/or drive that changing environment?
Traditional Information-technology and media sectors tend to 'evolve' technologically, but the interest remains to profit. That's why I believe news corporations will either die out (or remain as 'retro') or adapt to the web. Not only will most of them do the latter, they'll try to regulate and control this environment to suit their corporate interests.
Alternative media thrives on the interactivity and free flow of information we currently have. The more and the stronger we are in numbers, the better and longer we can offer a different point of view.
Failure is not always an option. If your solution fails to gain traction in the next two years, what other applications of the idea could you explore?
The project is comprised of different innovations that could be applied separately. Our website could still offer news without direct citizen participation but still cover their interests. Also we could - and plan to in the future - offer workshops in local communities.
Expand on your selections, explaining how you will sustain funding
We plan to approach NGOs, foundations and other social businesses to form a permanent partnership. We also intend to apply to Regional and National government funds when possible. Donations and fund raising are also contemplated through a hybrid organization that will provide legal and financial backing to the project.
Tell us about your partnerships
What type of team (staff, volunteers, etc.) will ensure that you achieve the growth milestones identified in the Social Impact section?
To get started, we'll need a journalism team (initially myself and my partner), a programmer/webdesigner and possibly an accountant.
Changemakers is a collaborative and supportive space. Please specify any community resources you would need to grow and sustain your initiative. Select all that apply
Investment, Human resources or talent, Marketing or media, Research or information, Collaboration or networking, Pro-bono help (legal, financial, etc.), Innovation or ideas, Mentorship.
Specify any resources you might offer to support other initiatives. Select all that apply
Human resources or talent, Marketing or media, Research or information, Collaboration or networking, Innovation or ideas.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren’t specified within the list
We'll need help creating the website and managing our business. On the other hand we can help with news and media collaboration and networking.
Summary
Define your company, program, service or product in 1-2 short sentences
Collaborative Investigative Journalism Website
Identify what is innovative about your solution in 1-2 short sentences
Allows Citizens To Participate In The News Process
 | 88 weeks ago Phillipe Trindade updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Phillipe Trindade updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Phillipe Trindade submitted this idea. |
