Blog  - “Give us your money” – a new route for investigative journalism?

“Give us your money” – a new route for investigative journalism?

“Our cowboy-like attitude: Hey, we´re doing it ourselves! Is very attractive.”

“The Sochi Project” by documentary makers Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen has the potential for setting a new benchmark for investigative journalism. For the next four years, they document the changes taking place in Sochi - the Russian city of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The multimedia project is financed by private donors.

Within the first year, the donations have reached the sum of 11 000 Euros. Just returned from another trip to Russia, Arnold talks about the specifities of the project, in relation to aspects of financing, journalistic freedom and the changing media scene. An interview with Arnold van Bruggen.

Where did you get the idea for the project?
Around New Year’s Eve 2006-2007 we made our first combined trip to Georgia and Abkhazia. It was a good trip, as it got mentioned in several publications. We then decided to move on working together. We had already discussed working in the Caucasus, and the Olympic Games were a good opportunity. Everybody knows the Olympic Games. Even people who don't like sports are interested in the social and political aspects of organizing these Games in such area. For us, personally, it was an excuse to investigate all different kinds of topics in this huge and diverse region. Connecting all these stories more or less to the Games adds a certain sense of urgency or actuality to our project.

Why this particular way for financing the project?
For many years we were looking to make our way of working, slow journalism, profitable. It was hard to get the travelling costs covered, even more, to make a profit. We think it is the first time this model is used on a larger scale. It is a five year project with the aim of collecting more than 100.000 euro for all our expenses.

Never before have the Olympic Games been held in such a turbulent region. We believe it is of great journalistic importance that the run-up to such a major international event can receive sustained and in-depth coverage. Dutch newspapers and magazines do not have the budget or manpower to realize a project of this scale. That’s why we are doing it ourselves.

The way in which we organized the donations, is pretty catchy, according to the Olympic medal system of bronze, silver and gold. A donation of €10 per year gives the donator a bronze status whereas from €1.000 per year one attains gold status. The gold donor will receive a special collector’s box for five original prints and articles. Each year, gold donors will get additional numbered hand-printed images and an article.

We knew the subject of our project would coincide with this system. I am not sure if it would have worked if we’d have been investigating Mongol nomads or some other topic. It is possible that we’ll use this particular financing model in some other projects. Right now we're delivering more than what we promised to our donors, in the sense of personal attention. There is a first-class book due to be released in November 2009 which silver and gold donors will get for free. There are also many good stories and photography series on the website. Everything is brilliantly designed by Kummer & Herrman, who participates in this project.

Of course, we could have considered other ways such as to apply for funds or to get a freelance contract with a newspaper or magazine. However, for us, the great bonus of this project is the medium we have established. We have our own photography magazine, our own videozine with the space for all kinds of stories. We do not have to face the sometimes ridiculous demands of the Dutch media of story having a connection with the Netherlands. We can work in many styles, we can write monologues, fictionalized, blog-like, background articles, portraits, everything is ours to decide and so far the donors like it. We have created complete editorial freedom for ourselves.

Do you think this is the new direction for serious, “slow” journalism? Is it the only way for investigative journalism to survive in terms of financing?
I think and hope the possibility for investigative journalists within newspapers and magazines will increase in the coming years. I can't see any other way to make their publications differ from everything which is already available on the internet for free. Our website is a very good model, but I guess if there would be more of these kinds of projects, someone can get a brilliant idea of combining them and you'll have a more or less traditional medium again. Still, I think for many people, it will be much easier to apply for grants. Then you will have to be accountable for one institution, while we have the responsibilities for all of our donors.

We didn't choose the easy way out. Starting a project like this is also like starting a new business; you will have to think about how to sell yourself, how to interest your donors, and how to fulfill all five years of this project. We hope, of course, that more initiatives like this will come up. It is interesting to perceive the process of making the documentary rather than just reading the article, or buying the book that will be published in the end.

How do you see yourselves in the framework of this project? Do you aim to influence the course of action in Sochi?
We're not activists. We're mediators, just as documentary makers should be. However we’re both socially engaged, so with our choice of subjects, we give our own personal portrait of the region. If that means drawing attention on the risky and earthmoving project that is taking place in Sochi, we'll do that. But we're really not activists in the sense that we can also contextualize what's happening. We are capable of putting things in perspective in terms of events happening in other parts of Russia and in the world.

“Maybe next year we can offer donators the possibility to visit Sochi.”

You give the donators a complete insight access to your work. Do you allow the donators to have their say in the direction which the project should take?
Our donators are so far really enthusiastic about the project. I’m sorry to say that up to this point there has been no thorough discussion with the donators about the way we do things, or handle our subjects in Sochi. That would be nice, though and it's part of our agenda. Maybe next year we can offer donators the possibility to visit Sochi. To sleep in a beautiful sanatorium and meet the same people as we do.

What are you currently working on? What is your next short term goal?
Right now we're working on our yearly publication, which will be very beautifully designed book (by our designers Kummer & Herrman). The book is about the sanatorium culture in Sochi. We hope our silver and gold donators will be very pleasantly surprised when they find it in their mailboxes.

For you, what would be a successful outcome of this project? What do you want to achieve in five years time?
In five years time we hope to deliver a fantastic atlas of the Sochi region, with in-depth stories and photography documentaries. It would be great if we’d have by then a big community of donators who are following our project and spreading the word. We also hope that “The Sochi Project” gives a new dimension to the Olympic Games. There is still much more newsworthy information about this region.

Would you say that the Sochi project diversifies or enriches the overall media landscape in Netherlands (and in Europe on the whole)?
It will surely enrich the media landscape, if the project results in more initiatives like this coming up and making their way to the traditional media. In a sense, projects like these are community based with a high quality output to the traditional media and to bigger crowds.

 

“The Sochi Project”: http://www.thesochiproject.org/home/subscribe/index.php?&en

Twitter: http://twitter.com/thesochiproject

Official webpage of Rob Hornstra: http://www.borotov.com/

Official webpage of Arnold van Bruggen: http://www.prospektor.nl/article.asp?article_id=126