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Day 2 of International Media Academy of Berlin – Media Training Workshop: Accompany Political Change, Strengthen the Regions.
Speaker Profile: Jonathan Fasel is a profound media expert and entrepreneur from Dresden. He has been an active and knowledgeable media professional. Jonathan discusses why it’s important as a professional journalist to not forget the basics of journalism and and reflect about the role of the media.
Organiser: International Media Academy Berlin
Website: www.im-academy.net
Attending this Zoom workshop tailored for Malaysian media are seasoned journalists, broadcast & radio producers, documentary filmmakers, media students and entrepreneurs. Jonathan Fasel shares that he is a second generation journalist in his family having he has followed the footsteps of his father – a magazine journalist. Fascinated with journalism, Jonathan studied in the oldest school for journalism founded 1918 in Leipzeig.
What is your motivation as a journalist?
Participant 1: Want to tell stories about people
Participant 2: Want to share some interesting insights/research with others
Participant 3: Tell stories/ spread awareness
Participant 4: Creating content responsibly / social aspect
Participant 5: Understanding the world better
Participant 6: Tell stories of people whose voices aren’t usually heard
What is journalism?
The professional work with information where it’s done under a certain set of rules.
Journalism has a role in society. We have a societal role and a task to fulfil to make societies work. Our role is to provide information to people out there – we choose information and publish it.
As journalists, you have a function of control.
- We have the Power to correct and control politics, society, economy.
- We have a certain responsibility and that’s why our work has an impact on what people think and how people act.
- We are able to change opinions of people
- We can facilitate and enable discussions and decide what they think of processes in public.
The Role of Journalism
Let’s say a musician was accused of stealing music ideas from other artists, but you have heard from different sources around you. What would you do? What would you do as a journalist?
- Research & investigate & collect information, meet people, experts, politicians, extract information.
- You select the information. Choose what is relevant, then do it by a certain rule set.
- What do journalists do? Publish the information.
Exercise: The language of genuine words.
Write a short sentence with words with one syllable:
We are all sick but we can change and heal by diet change. So I will start to be fit for good. I start here and now. I will move and walk. Each day I will move. Not sit. In a box or in a car. I will eat well. I learn now that fat is good. Low fat is fake. Milk is good. Sweet things are not. No flour. No bread. No carbs. Just meat. Fish. Steak. Egg. We all die. But let me die free of ill. This I must share. This is my cause. Thank you. – Contribution by Jasmine Low
Go on, you try!
In German, these one syllable words are the smallest units of language. These are elements of our language and elements journalists use to transfer language to people. These genuine words are the best way to use and to be understood so it’s no surprise that it’s often used as lyrics for songs. One could tell a really nice story using just one syllable genuine words.
IDEA: How about publishing a compilation of one syllable poems or short stories?
The quest for information in an investigation
1. Make your way from the outside to the inside
Where does one start?
i. Dead Sources.
Make your way from the outside to the inside. E.g. dead sources e.g. a book or text, sources or text that cannot speak for themselves. Start reading about the topic. Google search etc. Not humans.
ii. Experts
Colleagues who are renowned about the topics but not necessarily the researcher on that topic.
iii. Concerned people The protagonists.
Use the circle… from outside to inside, to unravel if concerned people are telling the truth. In order to have a really good interview with the concerned people.
2. Confirm your (critical) Information from at least two different sources which are independent from each other who can confirm the fact.
- The moment we publish, we need to be sure the information is right. – do not need to disclose your sources, just need to know them.
- Going back to the musician accused of stealing music.
- Research, speak to friends/colleagues/ex-colleagues/experts,
- Check songs in question
- Speak to several close contacts
- Confront musician
Participant sharing: Government officials would be the last person we’ll approach, for e.g. plastic pollution. We speak to everyone around and leave the govt to the last, for e.g. when crew is no longer in the country. The final source: the govt. “You cannot deny that we have a problem” If we went early, government could say you have no proof. So leave them to the last.
Misreporting If in case an error has been made, and an earlier report was made, it is a good practise to add a disclaimer that there has been a correction. Provide a maximum amount of transparency to your readers and offer an explanation on why the error happened.
How to conduct a good Interview
- Use at least two different sources which are independent from each other.
- A good interview starts even before the interview!
- Choose the right interview partner. He/she must be capable of speaking about your topic.
- Before you make your interview, make sure the person is able to speak on the topic.
- Prepare your interview – make sure you have a schedule and ask questions like are open ended, how, why and what. Not did you? etc.
- Need to prepare to reach your goal for extraction of information
- Start with the basics, then go to the specifics. Confirm your basics. Check your investigation of dead sources by asking the basic questions once more to make sure you’re on the right track.
Storytelling: The way we sell information in the right way
How to be pleasing?
Why? Stories are connected to the readers/listeners lives. When we use stories we are using patterns that people know from their daily lives. By connecting with their daily lives, we help them to understand the information better.We give them an order, and align them to a broader context and it’s easier to understand the information in there.
Two main ingredients are essential in good storytelling.
1. People (protagonists)
2. Strong verbs!
We have to focus on verbs to tell a good story. Verbs are the only way to make a story roll. Any other words are static. Verbs help describe the stories. We can switch on the cinema in our readers and listeners’ heads.
Exercise: Find more verbs for how a person can move forward:
Participants from Group 1: Advance, Jump, Walk, Saunter, Skip, Leapt, Forward, Run, Speed, Propel, Move, Stumble, Go, Slow mo, Take, Rapid, Rush, Dash, Hurry, Sprint, Jump, Whisk, Scuttle, Scurry, Depart, Race, Jog, Migrate, Lolop, Leap, Trot, Roll, Dawdle, Roam, Slip past, Pass, Speed, Sweep, Strive.
Participants from Group 2: Going forward, creeping forward, stepping out, scrolling, travelling forward, running ahead, walking ,moving, running moving forward, charging, marching on, increasing velocity, pushing ahead, forging ahead, jumping, on the move, making progress, proceeding, exploring, progressing, advancing, developing, going forward, forging ahead, making headway, pressing on, pushing on, going on, moving ahead moving along, marching, pushing forward, moving onward, pressing forward, gaining ground, moving on, going ahead ploughing on, continuing, going marching on, plowing on, pushing ahead, forging forward, pressing ahead, driving, surging forward, pressing forward, inching ahead, surging ahead.
These words above are all descriptive of the verb and GO! Isn’t that amazing?
The Kitchen Call
Another key aspect of journalism is that when creating content for whatever type of platform, you will always have a key message for your text/content. He calls this the Kitchen Call analogy.
Short story told by a German magazine founder in the 1960s. Imagine an old couple going to the shop and buying a magazine and going home, reading a story about new tax reform from the government. His wife is in the kitchen cooking and at the end of the 12 page article, he’s in anger about what he’s read. He yells out to the kitchen to his wife – the govt is completely out of their mind! They’re going to raise taxes again!!! His advice is to remember the Kitchen Call key message. The answer to the question – why do I need to read this text or listen to the podcast? The Kitchen Call!
Part 3: Constructive Journalism
What makes a topic interesting for journalists?
Share your thoughts and ideas.
- If it’s New, then it’s something we should report on.
- Proximity. Danger? Something that may bring harm. People could be directly affected for e.g. a gas pipeline in my neighbourhood. Things that are geographically close to me (reader).
- Concernment. Something of public interest that concerns you. For e.g. if your friend is affected by cancer and then you start to research the topic.
- Why do people buy custom interest magazines? Exclusivity is one of the factors.
- Disruption – disturbing the normal way of life for e.g. you do not report on the 500 trains that are on time every day, but you report on the one that is late.
- Superlatives. Fascination of strangeness, the biggest pumpkins, the tallest man, etc. Something that blows our minds – WOW!
- Usefulness. Inspires people to change their behaviour. One of the most important things. You can give an example of how to live better plastic-free. For e.g. 5 tips for a plastic-free christmas gift list. How readers can change their behaviour based on this.
- Prominence. VIPS, Kings & Queens, Celebrities etc.
- Gloating. Making fun of others.
- Fun, distraction. Social media or reading news just to get away.
Use these methods and apply them to any communication. It’s so universal even though it was created in 1922.
Are journalists reporting on the psychology of me? Centred around emotion and especially negative emotions.
Anger & fear = news?
SIDE CAR: We’re so attached to getting news all the time because it’s inherent to human identity. When we were in caves, we needed news to survive! We needed to be aware in order to survive. It was a part of our identity. All of them appeal to basic instincts. Those who received news, lived!
Good news is no news. In fact CNN was known to have claimed that they are filling in the gaps between disasters.
News has traditionally focused on negative events. It’s a huge problem because we’re firing up negative emotions between our readers and listeners. Why has journalism thrived on catastrophes? Crime? This was then.
These days, there’s a more exciting idea and a rise in positive media platforms & constructive journalism platforms. They are mostly financed by crowdfunding & some other independent groups.
What is constructive journalism?
- Solution-oriented *and not conflict-focused
- Not appealing to anger and fear, but to joy and hope
- Inverting some of the categories of interest, using others as they are. For e.g. superlatives, instead of the biggest catastrophes of the environment, but inspiring readers to shift their behaviour.
- Catching readers with positive disruptions, usefulness, superlatives.
One key goal – empowerment!
Interacting with the reader, motivating and inspiring him to change his behaviour. There’s a component of interaction. To change the life of their readers. They do this by inspiring & empowering.
Examples:
- www.positive.news – Focus on progress, possibilities and solutions, it is owned by readers and journalists.
- www.worldsbestnews.org
- en.reset.org/blog
- Jonathan cites a German publication as an example that is run and owned by the readers & journalists, where its management is elected by editorial officers, run in a democratic manner and not focused on revenue, founded in 1978.
- Karl Fechner – filmmaker who decided to focus on cinema and makes documentaries for cinema, feature lengths about energy transition. Climate Warriors is his latest film. His films are crowd funded.
All of them are crowdfunded, some owned by journalists themselves.
Constructive journalism: a new interpretation of journalism?
- Driven by optimism
- Motivation to change the world
- Is it time to refocus
- Do you want to make an impact on the readers lives? Or do you want to just inform?
- This type of journalism is mostly connected to new financing models, and science, progress & startup community
E.g. An independent radio station
- Critical interviews, using business and finance as a camouflage
- The only radio station that has successfully pulled off
- Interview school girls, 16 year old girls being interviewed
Participant question: Why is there a focus and interest on Southeast Asian media landscape now?
Jonathan explains that there’s a fascination from Europeans about the region, especially from an economic point of view. They don’t know enough about our region and are all very curious.
Exercise: Let’s find topics that are “Constructive Journalism“
Participant 1: Usually does news. Shift mindset from sending out information to initiating a dialogue with readers/ viewers.
Participant 2: Very few stories that look at indigenous peoples as agents of change. The narrative of indigenous peoples is usually that they are looking for welfare. But they are empowered and are fascinating.
Participant 3: How to invest
Participant 4: Domestic violence in India / Malaysia. She interviewed a mom, provided information on how to get to lawyers and victims of domestic abuse. She shared how she left her abusive husband, how she supported her children.
Participant 5: Before this, just grabbing whatever I can when doing stories. But one story that he did well was the story about his Muslim friend in USA, he got murdered, then his dad met the murderer and forgave him.
Participant 6: Australian of the Year 2020, Dr. James Muecke on diabetes and loss of sight.
The Pandemic is disrupting normal communication but
Q&A
- Crowdfunding – are people paying for content? Some media houses use subscription models, freemium, sponsorship or project-driven fundraising.
- Media didn’t apply the subscription model from the beginning. That was a mistake he reckons. It’ll be a long way to change the minds of consumers.
- Appealing to customers to change their lives by subscribing to positive news
- How does one report on a disaster or negative news, but turn it into a contructive piece? Jonathan suggests to report anyway but be constructive by finding a solution. What do we need to do in the community to ensure the problem can be resolved and not take place again. Focus on the solution.
Ends.