ARC – Cross-Border Journalism

Cross-Border Journalism Framework
Cross-border journalism collaborations open important opportunities, but they also expose uneven conditions of power, protection, and risk. Diaspora journalists often work under greater personal, financial, and legal vulnerability, while media organizations typically operate with more institutional backing and protection. Behind every international reporting partnership is a network of decisions about safety, legal accountability, funding, and power. These decisions shape not only whether a story gets published, but also who is protected, who is heard, and who is left carrying the consequences when things go wrong.

Working alongside VPRO, a Dutch public broadcaster, we set out to explore how cross-border journalism collaborations work in practice, and what it would take to make them safer and fairer for everyone involved. This was not a matter of refining a workflow or building a single tool. It required understanding a system whose structure was only partially visible, where relationships existed, but responsibility, risk, and decision-making were not clearly defined. The connections were visible. The structure was not.

This report documents the various stages of that journey.