Breaking news is like an awkward one-night stand: unfulfilling, quickly over, and soon forgotten.
We like our journalism to be a loving, committed relationship.
We’re in this for the long run. And we hope you are too!
Now, the analogy might sound a bit gauche, but it’s actually not that far off. Most news really is all about the short term: what dominates the headlines today is completely off the radar tomorrow, leaving news consumers more cynical – and no more informed about the world around us – than they were before.
At The Correspondent, we’re working hard to change that. Our journalism focuses on long-term developments and systemic issues that, often invisibly, determine how the world really works. Our correspondents dig deeper, hoping to give you a different kind of news that is not determined by recency, but by relevance.
That’s what we mean by unbreaking news.
In the four months since we’ve launched, and with the support of our members, we have been able to report on stories that have shifted readers’ attention from the sensational to the foundational.
Stories such as Danny Dorling’s, which revealed that the most unsettling story currently unfolding in the UK is not Brexit, but the steady decline of life expectancy as a result of a decade of austerity policies.
Jesse Frederik debunked the widespread myth of the effectiveness of online advertising, successfully – and engagingly, we’d like to think! – showing that the business model the internet is built on is broken.
And after spending months investigating where and how European anti-migration funding was being spent across Africa, Maite Vermeulen, Giacomo Zandonini and Ajibola Amzat came to a troubling conclusion in December 2019: billions of euros are spent on trying to stop people from migrating, yet there is no proof whatsoever that these projects and policies actually work. No one even knows where exactly this money is going.
These stories aren’t your typical clickbait. They show the complexity that is inherent in the most important issues of our time and allow for nuance in their reporting. Our business model is not dependent on selling ads, so we don’t need to draw readers in with catchy headlines that make false claims, simply to attract as many eyeballs as possible. We’re paid for by you – our members.
Doing journalism with you, not just for you
What our members make possible is not just financial sustainability. Our journalism and member community are also enriched by the invaluable knowledge and lived experiences shared on the platform.
Since our launch on 30 September 2019, we’ve had the privilege of convening extremely fruitful, respectful, and insightful conversations.
Young climate activists from over 15 countries shared their struggles and experiences of campaigning for solutions to the biggest problem humanity faces today – while still having to do their homework.
In another global chat, protesters from 16 countries joined us in the contribution section and gave our members a unique insight into the lives of those who sacrifice time, and sometimes risk their freedom, in the name of social justice and equality.
Most recently, as we widened the reach of our live online discussions even further, media experts from over 20 countries shared their vision of what the future of news could be.
All these global conversations are part of our deeply held belief that journalism should be constructive: it should not just tell us about the problems we face but also what we can do about them.
This kind of journalism takes time and commitment. Every day, we get a little bit better at it. And we hope you’ll help us improve even more by staying with us for the long run.
Think of these past four months as an extended first date: the relationship is new and exciting. We don’t quite know each other yet, we have so much to still show and do together, so it’s definitely worth doing again. Unbreaking the news is a journey we’d love for you to commit to take with us.
Are you up for the ride? We truly hope so!