Annual report 2023: Bearing witness through journalism
From the frontlines of war and global warming to the battleground against disinformation, courageous reporters continue to produce good journalism in the most challenging circumstances.
As the rules-based world order backslides and the boundaries between facts and lies grow ever blurrier, we need good journalism to help tell facts and lies apart; hold the powerful to account; and expose the drivers of social injustice and rights violations.
At the same time, we must never lose sight of the fact that good journalism means different things in different contexts: in addition to pushing for high-level societal change, good journalism can create small but vital changes that make a real difference in people’s lives. This year’s IMS annual report is focused on these changes, whether it’s taking a constructive approach to reporting on climate change, providing women journalists in Gaza with a safe space to do their work or community radio programmes leading to improved food security.
While there is no silver bullet, IMS has developed some ways of working that cut across all that we do. As we insist that good journalism is both possible and necessary, we take a comprehensive approach to media development: we help establish regional and international collaborations and alliances; work to bring local perspectives to the global level; engage in long-term, trust-based, locally-led partnerships;
support media organisations in becoming financially viable; and challenge laws and practices that endanger journalists and undermine press freedom – examples of which you will find throughout this report.
