Building Bridges with the Global Media: Lessons from a Syrian Information Center

April 1, 2022
Matt Broomfield, co-founder of the Rojava Information Center (RIC), an independent, volunteer-staffed organization based in North East Syria discusses on a new CMDS blog entry the importance of a local perspective in war reporting.

RIC does not act as an editorial outlet, instead serving as a bridge or conduit to connect journalists with sources on the ground to conduct their own research — regardless of how supportive, critical or indifferent the reporter in question might be of the NES political project. This objective and professional approach has been critical in assuaging any fears journalists may have had over RIC’s legitimacy, and rapidly building the center’s credibility.

 In focusing on helping foreign journalists complete their assignments rather than publishing our own news, we of course eschewed the editorial control local news agencies enjoy — a trade-off, but one which meant we were able to establish a much wider-reaching network of contacts as we sought to foster and deepen the quality of pre-existing coverage.

Read the full article here.