There Is No Other School in the World like the School for Authentic Journalism

Your Donation Teaches People from a New Generation How to Make Change in Their Communities

By Matt Richter
School of Authentic Journalism, Class of 2013

December 17, 2013

When I first saw the School of Authentic Journalism application, I was intimidated to say the least. It was filled with questions I had never been asked before and the buzz words I had become accustomed to seeing on job applications for mainstream media outlets were noticeably absent.

After working through the 11-page beast, it became clear that the organizers of the school were more interested in the quality of my character than a checklist of past achievements.

I was being asked about my real lived experiences and how they shaped me as a storyteller. I began to imagine how I could to use my skills in media to help social movements succeed and it was incredibly exciting. The application forced me to think about the relationship between journalism and activism in a new way, and I wanted to learn more.

My name is Matt Richter, I am a documentary photographer and this April I had the privilege to attend the School of Authentic Journalism in Mexico City.

For ten intensive days, myself and 39 other like-minded scholars learned how to use viral video production and investigative journalism to cover social movements in an honest and effective way.

We were trained one-on-one by prominent journalists and community organizers from around the world who have used media and nonviolent civil resistance as a powerful tool to help social movements win.

Additionally, the entire school worked together compile the lessons from the past 10 years of the School of Authentic Journalism into an online and multimedia encyclopedia.
The result was the “Manual to Change the World,” a handbook, available free of charge, for community organizers and journalists who wish to see social movements succeed.

There is no other school in the world that does this. By contributing to the School of Authentic Journalism, you will be giving a network of individuals the opportunity to learn how to make real change in their communities.
Your contribution will also allow some of the best practices and strategies of authentic journalism to be made publicly available. Please consider making a donation today, the survival of the school depends on you!

You can do so online via this link:

http://www.authenticjournalism.org

Or you can send a check to:

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

Thank you for your generosity and support.

Matt Richter
Class of 2013
School of Authentic Journalism

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