In the Life of a Journalist

Your Support for the School of Authentic Journalism Makes a Better Journalism Possible

By Anne Vigna
Class of 2010, School of Authentic Journalism

June 30, 2010

In the life of a journalist – be it freelance or inside a media organization – there are very few moments when we can stop and reflect. The pace of news never stops and we go from one story to the next. What the School of Authentic Journalism offers us is, first, a moment of “pause” amidst a hurried life. It gives us an incredible opportunity: the ability to stop, reflect and look around us. We are surrounded by a band of amazing companions who share the same concerns, the same desires and same rage but on different paths, places and experiences. We quickly recognize each other and see clearly that we are of the same family.

Anne Vigna, French Journalist reporting in Mexico, at the School of Authentic Journalism in Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, February of 2010. Photo: D.R. 2010 Sunny Angulo

And there, among brothers and sisters of the true profession, there, yes, we can stop and really reflect. There we can invent new methods, imagine how to inform, thanks to the unique mix that is made between experiences from every corner of the world.

You have to know this, kind reader: Journalist friends can be among the best of friends and most interesting people. But in this media heavy world that we live in more than many of you, the majority of the time we are not confronting the good, the interesting or the finery. It depends on where you go but you can see the dirtiest things in this job, the scandal that is the media industry from its stupidity, its oversimplification and even manipulation. Making a real and authentic journalist requires, now and then, a gathering like the School of Authentic Journalism, very well prepared by the maestro Al, and that allows us to recharge our batteries as Jesse says, in order to help today’s social movements tell their stories.

Al put us in contact with the best of authentic, alternative, intelligent journalism that is made today. We also visted the daily Por Esto! whose director, Mario Menéndez Rodríguez has done the best reporting for fifty years on the guerrilla and other struggles in América. As the third largest newspaper in Mexico in terms of circulation, it is clearly a great achievement. But how to do this without the patrimony that its owner inherited? How to do it when all you have is the will and the desire? The School allows us to see how all its members have used so many methods to inform and to broadcast: from community radio stations to websites. From humor to games.

You, kind reader, can be a precious help in this task of seeking new media, of awakening the imagination. We may not know each other but we both seek another media. We could interview you and publish your commentaries in video, text and voice:

What do you really seek and love about Narco News and about authentic media?

How do you think we can make the world turn off the most absurd and stupid television that we have today?

Why is it so important to finance a School of Authentic Journalism?

Many thanks in advance.

You can donate via this link:

http://www.authenticjournalism.org

Or send a check to:

The Fund for Authentic Journalism
PO Box 1446
Easthampton, MA 01027

Sincerely,

Anne Vigna
Class of 2010, School of Authentic Journalism

Lea Ud. el Artículo en Español

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