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ICA JSD PhD Colloquium

Funding the everyday: Understanding the funding dynamics and practices of community news projects in favelas

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Mariana Gomes

Karlstad University

2nd year

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Photo by RioOnWatch

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“We started out volunteering with a lot of love, but then adult life came along – and what happens? Bills start arriving for everyone. At Fala Roça, we were concerned about studying ways to generate income (…) and today we’re able to pay 10 people to work through grants, philanthropy, and knocking on doors.”

Michel Silva, Founder of Fala Roça

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“We started out volunteering with a lot of love, but then adult life came along – and what happens? Bills start arriving for everyone. At Fala Roça, we were concerned about studying ways to generate income (…) and today we’re able to pay 10 people to work through grants, philanthropy, and knocking on doors.”

Michel Silva, Founder of Fala Roça

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How do these funding relationships happen and look like 🡪 acknowledge that community journalism is changing

Why now?

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  1. Who are the actors that compose the funding ecosystem of community journalism in favelas?

RQs

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2. How do community news projects manage funding, and in what ways do funding calls shape their organizational decisions and daily routines?

RQs

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3. What motivates news organizations to formalize as NGOs and take on roles beyond news production?

RQs

Photo by Selma Souza, Voz das Comunidades

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  • Team of 26 professionals in the favela of Complexo do Alemão, Rio
  • Voz is more than a newsroom – it’s a social mobilizers (food baskets, educational training)
  • During the COVID-19 pandemic, Voz created a social responsibility department to coordinate aid
  • But could this be because funding is never connected to news reporting?

Photos by Joice Bento and Marlon Soares, Voz das Comunidades

Example: Voz das Comunidades

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Theory/concepts

  • NGOization from social movement studies
  • Refers to the professionalization (and depoliticization) of social movements

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Theory/concepts

  • Grassroots work becomes waged labor
  • News projects forced to formalize
  • Regulatory frameworks play a mediating role in professionalization

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  • Observations
    • Editorial/planning sessions; find actors and describe work practices
  • Fieldwork sites
    • More and less successful news outlets (around 4) for comparison

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Methodology

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  • Interviews�• Journalists: founders, editors, reporters�• Funding actors: grant writers, fundraising staff, donors
  • Document analysis�• Funding proposals, annual reports, financial documents

Methodology

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My main contribution

Bring in an economic perspective, in the same way we have done with mainstream media

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  • Adds a meso-perspective to community journalism studies
  • Adds to NGO journalism studies
  • Brings more Global South perspectives

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Contribution to the field

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Feedback needed

  • Theory
    • Weakest skill – more empirical than theory-based
    • How to make use of theory vs. concepts (explaining vs. describing)

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  • Awaiting ethical approval
  • Contact newsrooms
  • “Theory shopping”
  • Fieldwork for 3 months at the end of the year

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Next steps

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Thank you!

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mariana.gomes@kau.se