In times of political turmoil, the news needs to go where citizens are
When I was 17, one of my favorite classes in high school was writing. It was fascinating and scary to be able to expose my ideas in the form of text, using not only my opinion but facts, history, and data. My writing teacher must have seen my excitement about writing and encouraged me during the several years he guided me through the difficult task of working with words.
I have never been a competitive person, but I had the desire to win the school's writing competition, something I had never achieved. Medals in soccer did not matter to me; I wanted to win at weaving argumentative texts. Finally, in my senior year, my wish was fulfilled. I won the competition. There was even an award ceremony. My name was called on stage, I was greeted by the rector, my writing teacher and I went down with a prize in hand.
When I opened the package, I saw a thick book, “A Ditadura Envergonhada” (“The Shameful Dictatorship,”) by Elio Gaspari. It is the first of five volumes written by the journalist about the period of the Military Dictatorship in Brazil, which happened from 1964 to 1985. On the cover page of the book, a dedication from my teacher. The note encouraged me to use words to avoid that bleak times return to our country. I would only understand the real importance of that message more than a decade later when I was a professional journalist.
I created Me Explica at the beginning of 2013, the beginning of one of the most troubled periods Brazil has ever seen. In June, there were massive protests on the streets of the main cities in a cry for better public services and less inequality. The next year we had national elections and an ugly campaign that divided Brazilians. Less than 12 months later, the opposition started calling for the president’s impeachment. A fractured Brazil saw Congress oust her. Meanwhile, Operation Car Wash imprisoned hundreds of politicians (including two former presidents), businesspeople, contractors, and others involved in corruption scandals.
Journalism has been a key player in uncovering the misdoings of the powerful. Corruption scandals came to life mainly through the traditional press, including newspapers. But, at the same time, the internet has fueled conspiracy theories, lies, and generalized anxiety. The volume of information -good or bad- spit out every day through social media is overwhelming.
Important choices are being made in this context. Politicians understood that they no longer need the seal of approval of traditional media to get elected. Bypassing journalists has never been easier or cheaper. WhatsApp has been the weapon of choice to engage citizens through rage (and fear). More than half of the 200 million Brazilians use the messaging app, which has 120 million users. More than 126 million are on the internet. Instagram has 64 million users; almost half of Brazilians use Youtube regularly, according to eMarketer.
That is exactly why journalism needs to go where the people are.
Born in the digital environment, Me Explica has managed to create a community of more than 35,000. These are people who engage with me daily on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, people that want to understand what is going on in the world.
I believe I can grow this audience with the help of transparent, accessible, and straightforward journalism. Journalism that will be made -and hopefully read- outside of the ivory towers. We, journalists, need to be a part of the conversation. That will not only help us to be relevant, but it will also re-establish our credibility. By differentiating ourselves from the buzz of social media, we will be able to gather readers, viewers, and hopefully, advertisers.
In my journey here at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism, I have already learned that it is possible to create a project that is driven both by good business practices and the concern about the social impact journalism can have.
Me Explica is the product of all this accumulated knowledge passed on to me by memorable teachers, journalists, historians, and, of course, my parents.
Context and explanatory journalism can help empower not only the citizens but also media outlets. By following Me Explica, citizens will be able to follow the news and get informed on the most important subjects that concern Brazil. Trusting journalists can have the "side effect" of creating a much needed common sense that takes content distributed through WhatsApp and other platforms with a grain of salt.
I see this process as one more step in the mission given to me by my parents and my writing teacher. There is no doubt that journalism is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. And in a time in which both are in crisis, we need to step up and recreate the way civil society gets informed and watches the powerful.
