New project on OPERAS crowdfunding channel approaches Crisis and Journalism

“Crisis is always upon us” is the lead sentence that opens the campaign “Crisis and Journalism”, the new crowdfunding campaign run in the OPERAS crowdfunding channel at the wemakeit platform. The phrase could not suit better the context of contemporary societies, dealing with issues such as climate change, political polarization, pandemics, war, societal and economic inequalities, among many others. 

The role of Social Sciences and Humanities studies has always been not only to understand these issues, but also to be able to offer solutions to them. And among the 27 disciplines we have in the SSH field, Communication Sciences – in which journalism is embedded – have seen emerging importance over its development from the XX century until today. 

Having in mind the relevance of journalism practice and study, two scholars from the University of Coimbra and the University of Edinburgh developed the project of the book “Times of Crisis and Journalism”. The publication will feature scholars and professional journalists to discuss a wide range of perspectives on the relationship between crisis and journalism. The book is organised into six thematic areas, connecting theory and practice. 

The duo of scholars, Juliana Alcântara and Ricardo Ribeiro, are now running the crowdfunding campaign for producing the book on the OPERAS channel on wemakeit. The campaign has started on Tuesday, 27 September and will run until 11 November, and it needs your support for covering the editorial costs of the book, whose perspective wants to align theory and practice and to go beyond Western and Global North perspectives. Get to know more on the campaign’s page. 

The editors are both originally from Brazil and have wide experience in working at news media outlets. Juliana has more than ten years of professional experience as a public relations and journalist, working in the Brazilian mainstream media. She is currently working on her PhD thesis funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) on gender and journalism in the context of the covid-19 public health crisis. “Our book is an opportunity for authors who generally publish in English to become known in Brazil and in Portuguese-speaking countries. The book will have translated versions – in the first stage, English and Portuguese are guaranteed once we get the fund”, says Juliana. 

Ricardo Ribeiro has 18 years of experience as a reporter, editor, and international correspondent for major Brazilian news outlets, and currently is a PhD candidate in Politics and a teaching assistant at the University of Edinburgh School of Social and Political Science. His research analyses the roles of journalism in processes of democratic backsliding. “The environment of violence and informational uncertainty seen in Brazil’s presidential election this month reinforces the need for us to further study the role of journalism in crisis situations, including political crises. Our project comes to make that contribution”, he highlights. 

If you want to contribute to the campaign, you can now go to the Crisis and Journalism crowdfunding page and get to know more about the project and the editors. Contributions with rewards start at 15 euros, and from 40 euros on, all the rewards include one copy of the book and talks with the editors. You can also contribute with any amount with no reward included. 

The OPERAS channel on wemakeit platform is the way to support Social Sciences and Humanities crowdfunding projects. If you want to know more about how to create your own crowdfunding project, join our next workshops on October 28 and November 18! 

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