Communities are at the heart of NewsX
NewsX communities are specialised news teams that cover focused topics or regions to advance journalism on the topic
Where there were once a plethora of small publishers that employed staff specifically to service their specialist needs there is now an almost complete absence of this important talent pool. But digital technology can introduce a new way to rebuild similar teams in a virtual landscape. The demise of these local media groups and specialist publications is not the end because NewsX has committed to rebuilding these networks, and renewing trust and credibility in the process.
Because NewsX communities are decentralised, they have more freedom to follow difficult leads and explore new ideas. They are smaller units under the broader NewsX banner, which allows them to act with agility under the assurance of the global NewsX group, adapting news gathering, production and distribution norms to suit modern news systems.
NewsX communities allow media professionals to belong to multiple communities so that they may follow multiple interests and adapt their style on a day-to-day basis. Meanwhile, a group formed of specialist media professionals is better able to apply expert knowledge to a topic and creates improved quality control over the end product.
Communities broaden the overall spectrum of news
NewsX communities are the antithesis of one-size-fits-all
Communities organise experts into specialist topics
Why We Are Building NewsX Communities
Access to open and honest information, which we rely on to make decisions about every aspect of our lives and society, should be a fundamental human right.
Yet accessing such information is no longer a simple matter. The reason most often given is that much of what people consume now is provided by alternatives like social media, which must share some blame for this decline. But to understand why we no longer have access to independent media producing content that we can trust, we must look at where news comes from.
Most people can name the big media brands, but they are oblivious to the fact that these media giants are often not the originators of the news they publish. The reality is that it often originates from local media and specialist publications.
There are also many small news agencies, most with names the public has never heard of, that work alongside these newspapers and magazines – particularly in the UK. Their business is selling news to the big brands that publish that news. But like local and specialist publications, small agencies are disappearing. Where there used to be hundreds, there are fewer and fewer each year. The big publishers can no longer afford to buy so much quality news from these agencies.
The only way the publishers can take fresh agency content is if it’s free, and NewsX is a way to make independent news content free to the real press.
The loss of these agencies, regional publishers and specialist magazines has left the media landscape populated by social media, activism disguised as journalism, comment, native advertising, fake news, PR & marketing, news amalgamators and echo chambers. And now AI is weaving all this together to make believable stories from fake news.
But it’s a mistake to think that this is what forced real news out, it is simply what emerged to fill the vacuum that vanishing news organisations left behind.
The first stage in turning back the clock is to recognise two things:
The first is that news can pay for itself, but it will never make a profit. Yet it doesn’t need to if it is produced by a company that’s purpose is not profit, but journalism.
Secondly, we need more journalists to rebuild the lost and largely forgotten network of local newspapers, specialist magazines and agencies that once originated so much authoritative content.
That is why NewsX is proud to be the originator of many great news-producing communities. It’s a radical change, but one that brings new gains for regions and specialist topics, as well as for readers’ trust.
This is the NewsX mission. We don’t aim to be the best; we aim to be the best for journalism.
