Letter from the i Editor: It's more important than ever to trust your readers
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tomorrow night I’ll tune in to BBC Radio 5 Live to listen to its novel chart show, a top 40 of the week’s news.
The Hit List is certainly innovative: every Sunday it will discuss the news that’s had the greatest impact across social media and online in the past seven days.
Presented by Emma Barnett, it starts at 7.30pm and will last two-and- a-half hours. The rankings are compiled by sociologists and computer scientists from British universities. Fears that cat videos would dominate are unfounded. Based on the pilots, foreign stories feature prominently - although sometimes with a twist. For example, on Ebola, the public’s imagination was captured by one woman’s campaign, “I am a Liberian not a virus”. Westminster politics and business don’t overshadow everything else.
In a world of hyper-information and misinformation, journalists have a vital role. But the old world of news gatekeepers – a tiny band of editors deciding that they know best – has gone. Social media saw to that. i was founded on a dialogue with you. And while you expect us to exercise our judgement in choosing stories, if launching i has proved anything it’s to trust your readers. (Hence our i100 site where readers “upvote” stories.)
The success of Barnett’s new chart show will ride on the depth of discussion. I expect it to be eclectic and unpredictable – with the potential for compelling radio.
***
I mentioned yesterday that i has been named Publication of the Year by Stonewall. Tomorrow, the Rainbow List, the 101 most influential LGBT people in Britain, will be released in our sister title The Independent on Sunday. The list is in its 15th year. First time around, they struggled to find 50 people. For 2014, my Sindy colleagues Lisa Markwell and Katy Guest received over 4,000 nominations. I’m told we’ll see a mix of national treasures and feisty campaigners – although sport remains an under-represented area.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments