World News Day on 28 September is intended to remind everyone of the impact and value of fact-based journalism and to show that #JournalismMatters.
It underscores the need to support journalism and news media in the face of rampant disinformation, political interference and a global rise in authoritarianism.
This year World Editors Forum And The Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) is once again presenting World News Day as a campaign that newsrooms around the world can adopt and spread. As a participant, you will have access to a portfolio of campaign materials and a variety of ideas on how to promote the work of your own newsrooms in the run-up to World News Day.
Why “choose the truth”?
“2024 AD is testing modern societies in ways we had hoped would never be repeated. Autocratic regimes and aspiring dictators around the world have tested freedoms across borders, races and religions,” notes Branko Brkic, editor-in-chief of the South African The Daily Maverick.
“Modern conflicts span the globe and are fought in an information space that is overwhelming in its reach and power.
‘“New technologies and the platforms that enable them are battlefields on which our future is being fought.”
The Daily Maverick’s Project Continuum, an incubated effort to affirm the positive role of news media in the global community, conceived and designed World News Day’s Choose the truth Campaign that will serve as a blueprint for future collaborations.
A solid foundation for restoring trust in news
World News Day was launched by Editor-in-chief of Globe and Mail David Walmsley and launched in 2018 by the Canadian Journalism Foundation, to change the relationship between the news industry and its audience.
“Journalists need to explain themselves better. World News Day is a chance to engage your audience, to listen to them tell how their lives improved when they met a journalist, and how strong journalism brings to light the facts that empower us all,” says Walmsley.
The date is deliberately chosen: September 28 is designated by UNESCO as International Day for Universal Access to Information – which is just as important for journalists and civil society as fact-based news.
What you can do: Highlight the core and value of your journalism
For World News Day 2024, news media are encouraged to highlight the valuable role their journalism plays in the lives of their audiences and society at large.
Now is the ideal time to Revisit some of your best journalism pieces, what impact they’ve had, and remind your audience why they matter.
“The credibility of journalists and news media is tested every day. We regularly meet editors who are looking for support in defending and promoting their journalism and wanting to explain the processes behind their reporting,” says Cherilyn Ireton, Executive Director of WAN-IFRA’s World Editors Forum.
“The campaign video that launches this year’s World News Day sends a sharp, powerful message: choose the truth, support your favorite news brand, or risk losing it.
“Knowing how busy editors are, we’ve created a series of resources for them that are worth sharing widely.”
Watch a draft of the video Here.
More than 500 newsrooms supported the latest version of the campaign.
News organizations that sign up now to support World News Day 2024 will receive a portfolio of resources – including videos, digital and print ads, social media material and opinion pieces in multiple languages – to publish and share in the lead-up to the day.
Choose the truth: How you can use the campaign to your advantage
Campaign materials will be shared two weeks before World News Day and may be published in the five days leading up to World News Day and on World News Day itself.
Some ideas on how to spread the message and increase the impact
- Host/develop creative outreach programs on media or digital literacy in your communities, schools and libraries…
- Develop a podcast series on press freedom, best journalistic practices, investigative case studies…
- Create profiles for your newsroom and your journalists. Let your audience know who they’re reading, watching, or listening to. And when it’s safe, invite them into your newsroom.
- Use your newsletters to highlight your best work of the last week/month/decade – and the people it touched…
- Run a targeted social media campaign showcasing your most memorable pieces – or snapshots of them – with great journalism from around the world.
- Host an event that brings your audience and journalists together
News organizations and media agencies wishing to join or support the initiative can contact Cherilyn Ireton, Executive Director of the World Editors Forum: [email protected].
