About us
We are an editorially independent and not-for-profit newsroom based at the University of British Columbia. We are leaders in reimagining global reporting.
We were founded in 2016 with the goal of shaking things up. We challenge the way global journalism is done – parachuting in and out of country, taking stories away for audiences “back home,” and stripping away the contributions of local journalists. We see ourselves as part of the next generation. In practice, that means we partner with journalists from around the world who have local knowledge and expertise, we focus on empowering marginalized voices, and we investigate stories that may otherwise go untold.
The GRC’s ‘Fixing fixers’ workshop, Spring 2023 (Photo: Katarina Sabados)
Today, there is the added pressure of misinformation, algorithm-driven and -created content, growing distrust in the media, and shrinking budgets for thoughtful, long-form reporting. This makes it all the more important that our journalism embraces complexity and accuracy.
The stories we tell take time. We build deep relationships with our sources and follow leads much further than what a regular news cycle allows. That’s why our research and reporting can lead to wide-ranging projects that often take months to produce. And time means money. Every donated dollar allows our small team of dedicated journalists to do the rigorous research, interviewing, data gathering, editing, and fact-checking needed to seek and report the truth.
Here’s how we do it:
[1] We play well with others.
The most impactful stories are the ones we tell together. That’s why we work with freelancers, media outlets, scholars, students, and communities to produce groundbreaking journalism.
We know it’s important to be connected with communities, to understand their complexities and perspectives, and to understand the long-term impact of reporting. Working in partnership leads to more nuanced and accurate reporting that better reflects those communities. Although this approach is more complicated, we believe that a diversity of voices, expertise, creativity and skills makes our stories better.
[2] We aren’t afraid to break rules.
Some stories require new ways of doing journalism. That might mean producing a documentary that inverts the role of subject and filmmaker. Or simply spending the time and resources to stick with a complex story as long as necessary to get it right.
Thanks to our not-for-profit model, we’re able to experiment with our approach and make the results open and available for others to contribute to and use.
[3] We learn one, do one, teach one.
To affect real lasting change, we educate the next generation of global journalists. Our flagship education initiative, the Global Reporting Program, brings together graduate students from around the world to work on year-long investigations. Our teaching style is hands-on, giving students practical, professional experience — and the opportunity to partner with major media organizations.
We also offer educational resources, as well as fellowships and training guides.
Recent awards
Edward R. Murrow National Award — Winner, Excellence in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Turning points
Digital Publishing Award — Honourable Mention, Best Science & Technology Storytelling for The house that plastic built
Current funders
We acknowledge with gratitude the following current funders (within the past two years) for investing in our projects. View our full list of funders. We maintain editorial independence and strive for the highest ethical standards and donor transparency. Review our policies.
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