Cross-Border Collaborative Journalism: A Step-By-Step Guide

Cross-Border Collaborative Journalism is a detailed guide to transnational reporting, a cutting-edge journalistic strategy. In the twenty-first century, the most pressing political and social issues, such as financial crises, wealth inequality, migration flows and environmental collapse, transcend national borders. In reaction, journalists are increasingly collaborating across the globe to produce impactful and in-depth reporting. Recent agenda-setting cross-border collaborations include LuxLeaks, Panama Papers and Football Leaks. Brigitte Alfter takes the reader, step-by-step, through the history of cross-border collaborative journalism and the current working practices behind it. The book draws from the author’s own experience, as well as exclusive interviews with other pioneers of cross-border journalism, and notable case studies are integrated throughout. Chapters cover: Managing intercultural communication Effectively utilising a network of sources Choosing the initial story idea Fact-checking for cross-border publication Adapting the findings to different audiences and to different types of media Legal and security considerations for a cross-border team. By providing the essential practical skills for transnational reporting, Cross-Border Collaborative Journalism encourages students of journalism and practitioners to undertake their own collaborative projects. It highlights the importance of this exciting new journalistic form to answering the defining questions of our time.

Table of Contents:
Preface, Acknowledgements, Part I – Cross-border journalism: context and definition Chapter 1: Why embark on cross-border journalism? History, context and pioneers Chapter 2: What is cross-border journalism? The four characteristics and the seven steps of the work process Part II – The work process from idea to publication and beyond Chapter 3: Follow the story: how to develop and select a cross-border idea Chapter 4: The journalist in the network society and the networking journalist Chapter 5: Intercultural communication: how to make even diverse teams work smoothly Chapter 6: Getting cross-border research started Chapter 7: Pitching the cross-border way Chapter 8: Enriching each other: how to make the best of the research phase in a cross-border team Chapter 9: Adapting the findings to different audiences and to different types of media Chapter 10: Fact-checking for cross-border publication Chapter 11: Opportunities and challenges: legal and security considerations in a cross-border team Chapter 12: The day after publication: the impact question Chapter 13: Understanding and using journalists’ networks to proceed to the next project Part III – Overall editorial tasks Chapter 14: Editorial coordination in cross-border teams Chapter 15: Burden or blessing: the finances of cross-border journalism Part IV – The meta-level: studying cross-border journalism Chapter 16: Observing cross-border journalism: the analytical view of scholars, Index

About the Author :
Brigitte Alfter is an award-winning German-Danish journalist. She has practiced journalism at local, national and European level before setting up European support structures for cross-border journalism. Today she combines journalism practice, journalism networking and academic research.

Review :
Alfter's book makes it clear that these days, when politics, business and crime all cross borders, journalists too need to look beyond their noses. But how does one go about selecting a cross-border topic and developing it? What's the best way of organising a professional network? How can intercultural teams be made to work smoothly? How can the findings be adapted for presentation to different audiences and in different kinds of media? Brigitte Alfter answers these questions in detail, giving lots of examples and tips based on her own experiences as a journalist and on interviews with many other journalists involved in cross-border collaborative projects ... Her book provides an easy-to-understand walk-through of all these steps, augmented with invaluable advice. - European Journalism Observatory We need to rethink the newsroom, journalist role and journalist education. It is clear (even more so) when you have read Brigitte Alfters excellent handbook in cross-border journalism cooperation. The handbook is in English and easy to read, and it provides a thorough insight into how a journalist can work across borders. A large part of the strength of the book is that it challenges the traditional perception of the journalist as a lone wolf and the image of other media as competitors. - Journalisten