Journalism innovation from the Global South: How Indian journalists have changed my perspective on innovation, community, and journalism – and why this is crucial for newsrooms in Germany and Europe
- Now Age Storytelling team
- 4 hours ago
- 2 min read
Journalism innovation from the Global South: How Indian journalists have changed my perspective on innovation, community, and the future of journalism – and why this is crucial for newsrooms in Germany and Europe.
I'm often asked why I collaborate with newsrooms and journalism schools in India.
The answer is simple: in South and Central India, I encountered the most innovative journalists who have been placing journalistic relevance over reach, community engagement over neutrality, and ethical use of technology over pure algorithm optimization at the center of their work since the late 1990s.
Under often challenging conditions, media outlets in the Global South are publishing locally anchored, investigative, data-driven, and visually compelling content.
Their journalism strengthens the visibility and participation of local communities while winning people's trust in quality journalism.
This innovative force provides valuable guidance for making journalism more relevant and socially effective in Europe as well.
Paraguayan journalist Jazmín Acuña from El Surtidor, a Fellow at the Reuters Institute Oxford, is researching new pathways in journalism.
She recently published the compelling study "Change-Centric Journalism: reframing the value proposition of news for the AI age."
Acuña's central insight: Journalists must move away from the claimed intrinsic value of "journalism being valuable" toward an impact-oriented approach where change is deliberately created and measured.
Reach without meaningful connection and purpose remains insubstantial, failing to create a sustainable, truth-capable information environment for people.
Journalists and newsrooms that build relevant connections to local communities create "informative physical spaces" where people meet, exchange ideas, and develop and sustain shared values through dialogue.
They curate content and create a truth-capable environment that changes perspectives and opens up possibilities.
This is how relevant community-based journalism helps overcome the fragmentation of the digital public sphere.
Change-centric journalism focuses on measurable relevance, impact, and community engagement.
Inspiring examples:
Brazil's Agencia Mural employs exclusively editors from São Paulo's favelas – authentic hyperlocal journalism with over 90 correspondents.
In India, Khabar Lahariya, operated by Dalit women in local languages and on YouTube, reaches more than one million monthly page views through reporting on corruption and social injustices.
CGNet Swara, founded by former BBC journalist Shubranshu Choudhary, develops solution-oriented journalism for the marginalized Gondo community in Central India. The newsroom uses new technologies for solution-based community radio, now AI-supported.
To this day, CGNet Swara journalists have helped the Gondos solve and report on tens of thousands of everyday problems, with community members largely telling their own stories from their own perspectives.
India's Scroll is a digital publication with high journalistic standards, data-driven storytelling, and personalized user interfaces. It is estimated to have over 11 million monthly readers, with approximately 8 million in India and 3 million internationally.
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