It was impossible to pinpoint the instant it occurred. The effects were nuclear, but no one picked up the scale. Democracies die slowly and silently, and before we even realise it, it is too late to save ourselves.
Point zero as:1
1: the point directly above, below, or at which a nuclear explosion occurs
2: the center or origin of rapid, intense, or violent activity or change
3: the very beginning
Journalism at point zero, at the point of impact but also at the very beginning. Journalism as the epicentre of change, the power engine of possibilities.
I AM TERRIBLY EXCITED to launch watchdogs, a publication analysing the media from a critical point of view.
watchdogs will aim to provide the tools to understand the functioning and challenges of journalism. From the political stakes of tabloids to the symbiotic relationship between the media, capitalism and the far-right, and understanding how the political agenda is set... watchdogs will highlight how the Great Journalistic Decline™ is a leading cause of the erosion of democracy.
Journalism is supposed to be the watchdog of democracy. But over the last few decades, it has been reduced to the poodle of capitalism. Worse, parts of the media are getting dangerously close to being swallowed by the far-right media complex while the other struggle to survive.
After graduating in Journalism in 2019, I quickly realised two things:
I can’t be a journalist, I can’t afford it
I won’t be a journalist, the system is rotten
Yet, I remain deeply passionate. My heart burns for journalism to thrive and fulfil its raison d’être: to serve the citizens, to educate and inform, to hold power accountable, to be the watchdog.
I grieved my dream for so long, now I realise journalism is at point zero: the epicentre of a nuclear disaster, and it is to us to rebuild, to imagine and create its future
As I am starting this newsletter/blog/publication, I am riddled with doubts and in a legitimacy crisis. Who the fuck do I think I am to pretend knowing anything? How could I pretend to be a critic or expert of a world I barely know? And to that I reply
TOUCHÉ
But I don’t want to be the only one you hear from, so I’ll reach out. I will get help from those who work or have worked as journalists and from those trying to change things, making noise and working towards the future of journalism - the future of democracy.
watchdogs is a plural.
I want to hear from you and your ideas to improve the press and fight for the media we deserve. This newsletter is for all those who wish to bite back, for those interested in the state of democracy, for journalism is a critical pillar of our society.
The defunding of culture and education has made us less likely to understand current events, policies and their implication. Media literacy rates are free-falling. Large sections of the industry are too comfortable sitting on the laps of media owners, being muzzled, unwilling to get kicked to the kennel if they dare to dissent (enough with the dog metaphors!).
Capitalists have massively invested in the media, understanding the power of controlling the discourse to promote their champions - politicians on the Right who share their ideas. This New Right is set on attacking democracy and its institutions, to defend capitalism and leave workers in the gutter, to use minorities as scapegoats and to maintain citizens as consumers unable to imagine a better future.
In this maelstrom, a handful of journalists and publications have emerged, standing strong. But who is left to hear, read, watch when algorithms feed us a bubble of information curated to our taste?
The issues faced by journalism are multidimensional and I don’t pretend to have the answers or to understand it all, but I hope to find ways to solve this crisis and reinforce democracy.
Inevitably, watchdogs will be intersectional. Talking about democracy, about the media, requires us to question the status quo, to question power and who holds it. It needs us to continuously ask why, to be curious and step outside of our bubble to see the world beyond what it pretends to be.
Through a weekly press review, a monthly interview or guest writer, and a monthly dossier on the state of journalism, I hope we can become the watchdogs and protect democracy.
Rather than ground zero and its American overtone and the legacy of 9/11.