Some very radical collaborations are on the table

I was privileged to be at this year’s Global Investigative Journalism Conference, which took place - for the first time - in the Global South, in Malaysia. GIJC is the world’s largest international gathering of investigative journalists and those who fiercely and proactively support accountability journalism.

The keynote speaker was the ever-inspiring Nobel Prize Laureate Maria Ressa, who called for the investigative reporting community to embrace "radical collaboration," and to use the crisis in journalism as an opportunity for both survival and impact.

The rest of the world has a lot to learn from the Global South.

At Pulitzer, we support breakthrough global journalism - it is our deep belief that powerful stories [and storytellers] can change the world. But impact doesn’t happen by osmosis. It needs careful thought, planning and relationship-building.
Increasingly [and urgently] the focus will continue to be on editorial relevance, real world change and most critically audience trust.

Pulitzer thinks hard about its full model approach which combines breakthrough journalism and audience engagement. What’s the point of journalism if it doesn’t reach the communities it’s meant to serve? Newsrooms will have to find new and creative ways of reaching audiences, community building and critically being more adaptable and inventive in cutting through the noise, as well as the tsunami of mis- and disinformation.

Ida B Wells once said: "The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them." Audiences deserve accountability as never before, and that means the shining light brighter and more effectively.

To that end, I do think radical collaborations will be a key feature of 2026. Newsroom to newsroom, newsroom to creative organisations and individuals, and newsroom to audiences - we’ll see new, and somewhat surprising partnerships developing… I’m ready, and excited, for that.