(Photo by: Chatwan Mongkol/Soiciety)
Dear Soi Residents and Soi Builders,
I landed in Bangkok from Melbourne Sunday night, so this issue is late. Here’s what I did there and what I took back.
I spent two weeks visiting and taking courses at Monash University, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the All-Energy Conference and the Australian Synchrotron with journalists from across Southeast Asia.
Topics included audience development, mobile journalism, solutions and constructive journalism, data visualization, climate issues in our region, the energy transition and mis- and disinformation.
My biggest takeaway, a connection the industry rarely makes: Journalists disconnect from their audiences because the business model rewards reach over relationships and trust.
The program reinforced why I started Soiciety: to test a model that ties directly to readers and to approach journalism more like a librarian than a traditional top-down media institution.
I got a lot to reflect on, and I wanted to share this first. I’ll write more as I think through what it means for Soiciety and the journalism we want to build together.
📍 On to business: Here are news items that missed October’s Sunday editions, plus my November watchlist.
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