The view from Italy

I was a broadcaster all my life, thankfully in community radio, where you either enjoy having a real relationship with your listeners or you better pick a different job.

2011 changed my life in ways that I’m not yet done exploring. I was brought back into the streets by the streets of others. Weaving minute by minute stories on Twitter from Egypt and Bahrain especially, sometimes for as long as 14 hours a day, filled me with a sense of urgency and an awe for engagement in our public life. When for many colleagues the shift to participatory journalism was uprooting and uncomfortable, it gave me a sense of belonging, meaning and rejuvenation that I hadn’t felt in a long time.

All of a sudden, I had found my real place. Also, social journalism would give me the largest number of encounters with kindred spirits that I could ever hope possible — people I don’t need to be close friends with to feel their inspiration, or to swap views and experiences with, or to encourage each other on this uncertain terrain. Old structures have crumbled, yes, but new structures are being born, and often in the shape of strong and ethical ecosystems. Sometimes, too, in the shape of gorgeously brave and chaotic ventures like reported.ly and First Look Media.

What I do is a living testament to the fact that transparent social journalism empowers others to do more of the same — since most of what I know about it I actually learnt by watching closely what Andy Carvin was doing.

Little did I know that, one day, a chance would come up to be a proud part of Andy’s posse, which would also mean the chance to work side by side with some of the people whose work I most admired in the last few years.

There is no other place I would want to be right now.

At reported.ly we’re setting out to follow and discover stories, to preserve some of the most liquid material that is handled in social journalism, to build new tools, to create new bridges, to interact, to collaborate, to weave, to experiment — to make, to admit and to correct mistakes.

Andy put together a team that relies on professionality, experience and a passionate love for social journalism, but also on diversity and a touch of quirkyness.

Community, service, context, discovery, presence, narration — being a flexible, experienced and caring team will hopefully enable us to be where we are more needed.

We’re a start-up, we’re a band.

We’re determined to be useful. We’re one part of the equation and the other part is you.