We navigate deep uncertainty with community

Looking at the ongoing climate crisis, a recent article at The New York Times pointed out that we’re living in a time of systemic uncertainty:

In June, the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine published a paper cautioning that the world at large was facing “a psychological condition of ‘systemic uncertainty,’” in which “difficult emotions arise not only from experiencing the ecological loss itself,” but also from the fact that our lives are inescapably embedded in systems that keep on making those losses worse. Climate change, in other words, surrounds us with constant reminders of “ethical dilemmas and deep social criticism of modern society. In its essence, climate crisis questions the relationship of humans with nature and the meaning of being human in the Anthropocene.”

It is not just climate, of course, but politics, geopolitics, conflict, and social norms that seem to be in a state of frequent chaos and uncertainty. Journalists must contend with new and emergent realities that affect everything from mental health, news gathering and reporting, hybrid workplaces, sustainable livelihoods, and physical safety.

Predictions are useful not because they tell us about what’s to come in our field, but rather what we care about now so we can try to shape what’s to come. As critical futurist Johannes Kleske has noted, “if we have certain images of the future in our minds, they tell us little about the future and a great deal about the present.” Predictions, in other words, can tell us what values we have in the present that might guide how we respond to ever-changing conditions that affect the media industry.

One value I’d like to put forth as essential to navigating uncertainty is community.

Some 400,000 years ago, humans began facing tremendous challenges in the face of climate change and tectonic shifts. What helped us survive? We learned to cooperate. We learned to work in community. We figured out how to work with conditions of deep uncertainty by sharing ideas, exchanging lessons and learning from each other.

So what does this mean specifically for those of us working in media? I think there are three aspects of community worth looking at more closely in 2024.

How we learn from each other in inclusive, supportive communities

Community is an essential part of how media operates, and communities of support can ensure a broad exchange of ideas. Communities can be large and small — what’s more essential is that the groups are diverse and inclusive to ensure a cross-sharing of perspectives. Groups like SRCCON, Splice Beta, and Media Party work to create inclusive and interactive environments that foster meaningful exchange. And smaller ones, like the Future of Local News’s Care Collaboratory, can create beautiful visions with a range of contributors. As a participant, I found myself looking forward to monthly online calls with the Collaboratory, and we developed a beautiful zine, take care make care.

How we learn across experience levels through coaching and mentoring

At the same time, coaching and mentorship are essential, especially when done not in a spirit of hierarchy but exchange. Coaching and training programs like those run by LION Publishers, SembraMedia, and the Reuters Institute serve as key ways to accelerate growth on the job, with group and one-on-one sessions facilitated by folks with deep experience in the field. And The Self-Investigation, where I serve as a leadership trainer and coach, aims to place mental health and well-being as a key priority in the newsroom, with training programs and coaching services that support journalists and managers on issues like vicarious trauma, burnout, chronic stress, and digital wellness.

How we learn from other industries and localities

And finally, we can learn from other industries, fields and localities, who are also navigating systemic uncertainty. One of the most interesting sessions on journalism I attended this year featured speakers who weren’t journalists at all but leaders from the reproductive rights movement in Latin America. Run by Perspectives at the News Product Alliance Summit, the conversation aimed to find new approaches to journalism’s biggest problems with groups outside of the media. Other groups, like Contemporary Narratives Lab, which bring artists and journalists together, and AfricaCheck’s interactive radio dramas produced with Theatre for Change, are showing that cross-industry, cross-locality learning is not only possible but necessary.

As we look toward 2024, we can expect the tumult of the past few years to continue, with profound ripple effects for journalism. As much as it can feel like very little can be done, we all have agency to shape and define the futures we’d like to see. The future, after all, is written in the present, and there’s a lot of powerful evidence at the forefront of media showing that communities are helping us find the path forward.