Coming From Project

A Journalistic Exploration by NYU Studio 20

Karolis Vysniauskas

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‘My focus is on those who have less power’: Lithuanian journalist Karolis Vyšniauskas shares his worldview

Karolis Vyšniauskas in the recording studio in Vilnius, Lithuania. Photography by Karolis Pilypas Liutkevičius, NARA

Karolis Vyšniauskas is a journalist from Lithuania, currently studying Media Innovation at NYU. He helped establish NARA, the pioneering longform journalism and media education space in Lithuania, where he has worked as an editor, membership manager and podcast host. This is his “Coming From” statement.

The first time I felt the power of journalism was when I was a teenager, spending too much time on video games. It was the early 2000s, a strange time when you could subscribe to a print magazine about the digital world.

And that is what I did. The magazine was called Kompiuterija and I would read it all, cover to cover.

The editor of Kompiuterija was encouraging readers to send their own stories for the magazine. I wrote a review of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and, to my surprise, it was published. The feeling of seeing your article on paper was one of a kind. Getting paid for that didn’t hurt as well. Especially when you are 14.

But the most important thing was that journalism connected me with other people. In the next issue, someone wrote an answer to my review. We, the readers of the magazine, were talking, even though we had never met each other in real life.

At that time, I lived in a village in Lithuania and went to school in a small city next to it. I knew that there was a big world out there and I wondered if journalism could be my way to reach it.

Eventually, that is exactly what happened. I felt a similar sensation many times, for example, when hosting a radio show alone in a Lithuanian National Radio studio, knowing that there were many people out there who were listening, I just didn’t see them. Or when doing one-on-one interviews that would later be read by many people who are not in the room with you and your interviewee.

Of course, there are so many ways for people to connect now. Journalism is not the most powerful and definitely not the easiest one to do that. It’s almost archaic.

But I like it, because the journalistic way of communicating is different. It’s more enlightening. When journalism is done right, people become more fulfilled versions of themselves. The journalistic way of talking allows me to ask questions I would otherwise struggle to ask. And why would those people talk to me anyway?

Journalistic practice allows me and my interviewees to talk about topics that society struggles to uncover, such as mental health, inequality or sexual misconduct. In “normal” life you rarely start your conversation with people about those topics. In the journalistic approach, if people trust you, you can do that straight away.

So this is what journalism is for me: it is a way to make new, more informed and more honest connections. I see my job as a facilitator of this process. That is my role in society, that is why I am useful.

However, there are a few rules and observations that are worth knowing when engaging with my work. Let me share them with you.

  • My focus is on those who have less power. It doesn’t mean that they are always right. But I don’t want to be a journalist who is serving only the elites. There are many other industries that do that.
  • I believe that we have enough material and mental resources for our societies to flourish. But we are failing to use them. Uncovering the “why” and “how” of that is one of the goals of my work.
  • Social media in 2021 is a polarizing and tiring place. Yet I am dependent on it to reach my readers and listeners. This tension is at the heart of my work and I am looking for ways to escape it.
  • My worldview is shaped by Lithuania, the country I was born in and where I have been living for more than 30 years. Even in my international coverage, the worldview from Lithuania might be present and I may not be aware of it.
  • In my work I tend to criticize many aspects of today’s Lithuania, including its conservative political class and our inability to deal with the country’s history. But my criticism is an act of good faith. I want our society to grow. I love Lithuania, that is why I criticize it.
  • I think that too many journalists in Lithuania side with the powerful. I find more kinship with people from Lithuanian human rights organizations. Sometimes we do projects together. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t point out the problems in these organizations.
  • I feel like my worldview is limited to European and American spaces. I am learning the Russian language to understand the Russian world better. I want to engage more in Middle Eastern, African, Asian and Latin cultures. I’m afraid my lifetime won’t be enough to do that.
  • I think that the greatest issue for our generation is the climate crisis and I don’t believe we, as the world, are capable of solving it. The shadow of climate catastrophe is always at the back of my mind as I think about my future.
  • I think the change that I, as a single journalist, can achieve, is very small. On the grand scale of things, my articles or podcast episodes are just bits in the internet machine. I know this. And yet I also know that I can sometimes manage to reach people and achieve true connections. That makes it worth doing.

Learn more about Karolis and his work in Lithuania with NARA here.

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ProPublica’s journalists are clear: They want impact

Established in 2007, ProPublica.org (the first digital-only newsroom to win the Pulitzer Prize) sets a standard for nonprofit media of our time. In addition to being innovators in crowdsourcing, the newsroom is also ahead of the curve in being transparent about their goals.

The stated mission is to “expose abuses of power and betrayals of the public trust by government, business, and other institutions, using the moral force of investigative journalism to spur reform through the sustained spotlighting of wrongdoing.”

ProPublica journalists are clear that for them it’s not enough to inform about wrongdoings – they want their journalism to have a real-life impact.

read the full statement

Here is what stands out from ProPublica‘s statement.

Public interest impact

They have a separate page on their website dedicated solely to the impact of ProPublica’s journalism.

  • ProPublica: “Among other positive changes, our reporting has contributed to the passage of new laws; reversals of harmful policies and practices; and accountability for leaders at local, state and national levels.”

One example is the story of Grace, a black teen who was jailed in Michigan for not doing her online coursework. ProPublica Illinois was the first to report on the story and eventually Grace was released from a juvenile detention facility.

Why the approach matters

The crucial rule about the Impact Approach is that ProPublica’s impact has to be in the public interest (as opposed to corporate or government interests). As NYU professor Jay Rosen, the initiator of the Coming From project, put it in a recent essay, “This is a kind of agenda. But it’s compatible with the principles of good journalism, and it tells people what to expect.”

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The Oaklandside shows readers how it works

From its inception, The Oaklandside, a community-driven local newsroom for the people in Oakland, California, has been transparent about its work, its values and its funding. The Oaklandside has a special section on the website called “How We Work”, which gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at the decision-making process.

One recent example is the newsroom’s work with community advisors. In May 2021, the newsroom teamed up with seven longtime residents of Oakland, one for each district of the city. Their job was to read The Oaklandside’s stories and give feedback to ensure that the journalists were staying true to their values. 

“We will seek to bring an ‘asset mindset’ to our coverage, reporting on and highlighting the brilliance and value of Oakland’s people, institutions, and communities, alongside our honest and uncompromising reporting on Oakland’s greatest vulnerabilities.”

The Oaklandside
Read the Full Statement

There are several reasons we included The Oaklandside in the ComingFrom.org collection:

An inclusive editorial process

When the newsroom published a story of the life of Mario Gonzalez, a young Oaklander who was killed by Alameda police in April 2021, it was followed by a detailed piece on how the journalists captured this story. This extra access – something that few newsrooms allow – gives a sense that the reader is entering a community, rather than a traditional media organization. Even the name of the organization was chosen by one of the Oaklanders, in a community brainstorm session.

Public statement of values

The Oaklandside publicly shares its founding values. These include being good listeners and building a newsroom that represents and reflects Oakland.

  • The Oaklandside: “We’re especially interested in working with people who have ties to Oakland, and who have demonstrated an understanding of the ways race, racism, identity, and power shape daily life in Oakland and across America.”

Oakland is one of the most diverse yet also unequal cities in the U.S., especially in categories like housing and crime. The need for communal spaces is strong. To achieve that, the newsroom must believe in the city and its people, yet also stay critical and independent to stick to journalistic values – something that The Oaklandside declares and delivers on.

Note: We’d like to thank Lance Knobel, Co-founder and CEO of Cityside for recommending this example for consideration in the Coming From Collection. Cityside is the nonprofit publisher of The Oaklandside.

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LAist acknowledges climate change, systemic racism in plain language

Los Angeles-focused website LAist, brought back to life in 2018 by Southern California Public Radio, proves that it can take just a few sentences for readers to understand your journalistic stance and feel an instant connection (or, in some cases, rejection). In nine bullet points, the nonprofit member-supported organization explains its beliefs.

“Systemic racism exists. We have an obligation to combat it, even as we’re on our own respective journeys.”

LAist
Read the Full Statement

Here are a few takeaways from the LAist mission statement that landed it on ComingFrom.org:

LAist’s beliefs are clearly stated

In addition to systemic racism, the newsroom declares that “we are facing a climate emergency.” In some newsrooms, these stances would be up for debate. LAist goes one step further, starting off from the point that these problems exist and focusing its energy on reporting and looking for solutions.

They even feel the need to acknowledge that “democracy and civic participation are good things.” Such a statement has become a debatable stance in contemporary America.

The benefits of brevity

The entire “About Us” page of LAist is a bit more than 300 words. You can read it in a couple of minutes. But that is the whole point! Reading a “Coming From” statement shouldn’t feel like a job. It can be a brief but clear “Welcome” note to whoever found your journalistic home on the internet. LAist sets such an example and that is why we picked it for our selection.

Documented transparency

And if you want to know more, the organization provides links to LAist’s public documents and board of trustees, as well as staff. If you want Southern California Public Radio’s 2021 Annual Report, it’s two clicks away. The website’s “About” page actually contains tons of information, but it doesn’t hit you that way. It doesn’t overwhelm the reader – which is exactly how the “Coming From” statement should feel.

Note: We’d like to thank Kristen Muller, Chief Content Officer from LAist for recommending this example for consideration in the Coming From Collection.

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Scalawag’s stance for a more liberated South

Founded in 2015 in Durham, North Carolina, Scalawag is an independent web and print magazine, focusing on the American South. The unique sections of Scalawag’s website – Southern Politics, Race & Place and Arts & Soul – reflect its focus and stance. And the team’s mission statement is loud and clear:

“Through journalism and storytelling, Scalawag works in solidarity with oppressed communities in the South to disrupt and shift the narratives that keep power and wealth in the hands of the few.”

Scalawag
READ THE FULL STATEMENT

We decided to include Scalawag in the ComingFrom.org collection due to its clear mission statement.

A theory of change


Together with the statement, the magazine creators share their “theory of change.” They disclose that they want Scalawag’s journalism to have real outcomes.

  • Scalawag states that storytelling should “lead to policy changes, support to movement work, narrative shift, increased solidarity and connection, the nourishing of radical imagination, and the creation of pathways to careers in journalism, literature, and the arts for people who have not traditionally had access.”

If done right and repeated, Scalawag’s journalism should lead to “transformational change.”

A clear call to action

The mission statement is followed by the call for readers to become members and support Scalawag’s work financially. With all this information in mind, the readers can make a more informed decision – they know where the magazine’s team is coming from, and what they want to achieve.

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Fernanda Santos opens up to her readers while ‘rebuilding’ her life

Fernanda Santos isn’t afraid to tell the world where she’s coming from. Santos, a Brazilian journalist, a contributing columnist for The Washington Post and a journalism professor at Arizona State University, shares her story in intimate detail on her personal website.

“I climbed the journalism ladder step by step, using my multicultural heritage — I’m of Native Brazilian, Portuguese and African descent; my multilingual skills — I speak Portuguese, English, Spanish and French; my uncanny eye for details that matter; and my burning curiosity for everyday-life stories to distinguish myself.”

Fernanda Santos
Read the full stAtemenT

Santos is included in the ComingFrom.org collection due to her unique honesty and vulnerability.

In the “My Story” section of her website, Santos connects her passion for journalism and human stories with her life in Rio de Janeiro, where she witnessed “violence, inequality and immeasurable hope.” That’s part of where she’s coming from. She also tells readers about her time working at The Eagle-Tribune in Lawrence, Mass., the first majority-minority city in New England.

Knowing all this information, it’s easy to understand why she chooses stories about people navigating through different languages, identities and social hierarchies – because you learn that Santos is one of them. Santos writes about the life she knows and doesn’t parachute into communities for her stories. As a reader, that allows you to trust her work.

In the last paragraph, Santos moves away from presenting her journalistic work and tells about the major event that shaped her as a person: her husband’s death. She publicly explored her pain in a New York Times essay in 2019.

“Together, we’ve managed to plod through the muck, gulp for air and dive under these stormy waters we’ve sailed, holding our breath, and holding it, as we wait for the storm to subside, wait for the whirlpool to stop spinning. We’re still out there, swimming. We have each other as lifesaver.”

Fernanda Santos

Rarely does one come across such open, personal statements on the About pages of journalists’ websites but your personal life shapes your professional life. Because Santos shared her “My story” with her readers, it cultivated a new level of connection and trust towards her work.