Co-creational news media project
This impact-focused project develops a new normative model for the news media, which we call the co-creational model.
The co-creational model:
The news media play an important role in structuring political debates. Following the upheaval in the news industry created by the rise of social media, a main challenge for democracy is the availability of high-quality, impactful news in an increasingly digital world.
The co-creational news media model shows how public participation can support the production and dissemination of high-quality news and information. It contrasts with three other normative models for the news media (Heawood and Peter 2023). The traditional model of news media places value on truth-seeking, but it is not very inclusive. The social media model, conversely, values public participation but not truth-seeking. Some news media organisations appear to value neither.
By combining a commitment to both truth-seeking and public participation, the co-creational model offers an important and timely tool to contain the pernicious political effects of lies and misinformation and enhance public trust in the news media.
About the project:
The project received funding from a ESRC Impact Accelerator Award from the University of Warwick in 2022 and the AHRC (AH/Z505687/1) in 2024/25, with Fabienne Peter as PI. Project members include Jonathan Heawood (PINF), Rowan Cruft (Stirling), Jay Howard, and industry partners including Bellingcat, Black Ballad, The Bristol Cable, Bylines Network, gal-dem, The Ferret, Greater Govanhill, Inclusive Journalism Cymru, On Our Radar, and open Democracy. It grew out of a previous AHRC-funded project on Norms for the New Public Sphere (AH/S002952/1).
Co-creational news media toolkit:
Together with industry partners The Bristol Cable, Bylines Network, The Ferret, Greater Govanhill, Inclusive Journalism Cymru, and On Our Radar, as well as a broader network of journalists and other practitioners, we have developed a toolkit for co-creational news media.
The toolkit gathers ideas, tips, and examples of co-creational news media. Explore the toolkit to find out about the many ways in which the news media can be co-creational.
Links and news items:
- Jonathan’s report on the pilot project
- Panel at the International Journalism Festival 2025
- PINF Newsletter post on launch of toolkit
- Jonathan's Linkedin post on launch of toolkit
- https://www.journalism.co.uk/news/new-toolkit-helps-journalists-build-trust-through-public-collaboration/s2/a1262084/
- https://decentered.co.uk/welcoming-the-pinf-co-creation-toolkit-a-step-forward-for-community-centred-journalism/