Program Description
Event Details
Author Cristi Hegranes in Conversation with Marjorie Childress
Byline: How Local Journalists Can Improve the Global News Industry and Change the World
Byline: How Local Journalists Can Improve the Global News Industry and Change the World details many of the experiences that formed Cristi’s model for the future of journalism. In short order: in order to change the story, you have to change the storyteller. And doing so can lead to elusive success in a very tough market.
Journalism is in crisis, but the solution is right in front of us.
It's no secret that news outlets are struggling to maintain their audience, and journalism jobs are being cut to accommodate tighter and tighter budgets--all while the public regularly falls prey to "fake news." Today, news consumers have lost trust in journalism. They sense, rightly, they aren't getting the whole story.
By reimagining a model for international journalism, Cristi Hegranes has proven we can reverse this trend--by changing who tells our stories. Local reporters with proximity to events and access to diverse sources tell fuller, more accurate stories--the sort of news consumers have been demanding for years.
Featuring original interviews with some of the biggest names in journalism, including Nicholas Kristof, Carroll Bogert, Bobby Ghosh, Lauren Williams and Global Press reporters across the planet, Byline makes a bold case that international coverage led by local journalists can restore trust in the entire industry.
To enact this solution, the industry will have to let go of many outdated assumptions about what news people want, who has a right to tell their story, and just what security means in the new era of journalism.
Cristi Hegranes (HEG-RUH-NESS) is the founder and CEO of Global Press, a nonprofit news organization that trains and employs local women journalists in some of the world's least-covered places. Cristi is the architect of the industry's leading Duty of Care program for local women journalists, which was named one of Fast Company's World Changing Ideas of 2022 and received the Human Rights Prize from the American Psychiatric Association in 2020. She is also the lead author of the Global Press Style Guide, which elevates standards for dignified and precise language in international journalism. Cristi has taught journalism and social entrepreneurship courses at Stanford and Georgetown universities. Originally from Santa Fe, New Mexico, Cristi now lives outside Washington DC with her toddler son, Henry.
Marjorie Childress is the managing editor for New Mexico In Depth. As a reporter, she’s covered New Mexico social and political stories since 2008, beginning with the New Mexico Independent, the state’s first digital nonprofit news outlet. For New Mexico In Depth she periodically reports on public health, energy, environment and the influence of money in politics. As editor, she works with reporters to produce ongoing as well as special reporting projects, and she manages the organization’s fellowship program for emerging journalists. She holds a Master’s degree in community planning from the University of New Mexico, and over the course of her career has held management positions in both private and nonprofit organizations, leading financial management, strategic planning, and program teams.