Jonathan Heawood reflects on the first meeting of the Co-Creational News Media Symposium.
Long-term PINF blog readers might just be able to cast their minds back to February 2023, when I launched a report, co-written with Fabienne Peter, on ‘The Co-Creational Model for the News Media’.
In the report, Fabienne and I explore ‘co-creational’ forms of news media which bring together professional journalists with members of the public to pursue truth and facilitate public participation.
Rebuilding trust in journalism and strengthening democracy have, if anything, become more vital areas of concern in the intervening months. There has been a slew of recent debate about these topics, from the New Yorker’s expansive discussion on the future of media, to Serial alumnus Brian Reed’s new podcast, Question Everything.
At PINF, we’ve been working on a project with the Universities of Stirling and Warwick to explore practices of co-creation that may hold part of the answer to these crises.
Last week, we brought together a group of co-creational media pioneers and other experts in the first of a series of workshops to develop a co-creational toolkit that we hope to launch in 2025. The toolkit will serve as a one-stop-shop for starting a co-creational project from scratch, from governance and agenda-setting, information-gathering and fact-checking, to content creation, dissemination and impact.
It was a privilege to have such insightful conversations about this emerging model of news media. Special thanks to John Domokos, Louise Houghton, and Mairi MacRae for their fantastic presentations, which sparked rich discussion among the group.
During the event, we explored various aspects of co-creational media. We discussed how such an approach has received more uptake in the charity sector than among journalists. Organisations like Shelter, for example, work directly with people who have experienced the issues firsthand. Co-creating policies and campaigns with those who have lived through housing insecurity or homelessness make sense because their experiences lead to more effective solutions. But when it comes to news organisations, there’s been a slower adoption of this approach.
One reason for this is that news providers traditionally draw a line between journalism and advocacy. We like to believe that journalists pursue objective truth, while advocates are seen as having an agenda. However, as was raised in our conversation, no news story is free from framing or selection—every piece of reporting is shaped by human decisions, beliefs, and experiences. Acknowledging this doesn’t mean we abandon truth-seeking; instead, it opens up the possibility of enriching our reporting with values like care, compassion, and allyship alongside core journalistic principles such as accuracy and independence.
The co-creational model offers an opportunity to share power more equitably between journalists and the public. But we must recognise the complexity and responsibilities that come with this approach. Co-creational journalists don’t just report; they facilitate, organise, and often form deep connections with the communities they work alongside. This means carefully navigating how to avoid re-traumatising individuals who share difficult stories and managing expectations so that people understand what taking part in a media project can and cannot achieve. Additionally, we noticed how the long-term sustainability of co-creational organisations can be challenging – finding both the mental and financial resources required to maintain these initiatives.
Please get in touch if you’d like to know more or get involved in the project.