The decimation, deterioration, and decline of journalism
When a news event breaks, wherever that might be, Orato is there searching for someone who not only witnessed the event but, more importantly, survived it. An Orato journalist interviews that individual in their own domestic language, so we can publish – in English and the subject’s native language – the account of their story. We call this first-person news reporting.
- 3 years ago
August 12, 2021
Every day, at Orato World Media, we have the rare privilege of working with qualified journalists that interview subjects who experienced newsworthy events first-hand, from every corner of the globe.
In 1993 the World Wide Web launched into the public domain making it simple for everyday people to navigate the internet. Companies like Amazon and Google quickly followed. By 1998, cybersecurity was put on the United Nations agenda. Now, over three decades later, the evolution of the internet and adjacent technologies are moving at blinding speed.
The impact of this social and technological evolution on journalism is well documented and nearly immeasurable. Suddenly, anyone could publish information and call it “news.” The presence of verified research or proven facts to support the narrative became optional and virtually unnecessary. Without a scintilla of experience or qualifications, anyone could publish an alternate set of facts and claim its truth without context or verification.
The internet now connects people around the globe digitally. Anyone with access to this virtual world can stand witness to and be immersed in the intricate realities of other human beings. This gives rise to the undeniable fact that we now live in a global village.
The peak of a thriving news industry becomes a distant memory
By 2020, the meteoric rise of unreliable content reached readers in mass, making it seemingly impossible to distinguish fact from fiction. A tsunami of misinformation and disinformation disguised as news challenged legitimate news outlets, dwarfing their content.
Propelled by bots, AI, and millions of social media users, the ability of news organizations to deliver verified news at the pace which misinformation and disinformation penetrated and blanketed the world wide web suddenly became impossible.
The death knell signaling the end of they heyday of a thriving news industry occurred when big tech companies successfully implemented algorithms to not only drive traffic but attract advertisers and fund the funnel of content sharing. In the first decade of the internet, big tech began to enjoy as much if not more income than traditional news makers.
By 2020, big tech’s share of advertising grew to more than 90 percent of the overall advertising market. In that process, capable, established legacy journalism organizations were left to fight over the scraps of revenue left behind by the tech companies.
What is First-Person News?
Every day, at Orato World Media, we have the rare privilege of working with qualified journalists that interview subjects who experienced newsworthy events first-hand, from every corner of the globe. Equally important and in keeping with their professional and ethical obligations, our journalists verify the veracity of each story so you can be confident each published piece is a true reported event experienced by a real person.
When a news event breaks, wherever that might be, Orato is there searching for someone who not only witnessed the event but, more importantly, survived it. An Orato journalist interviews that individual in their own domestic language, so we can publish – in English and the subject’s native language – the account of their story. We call this first-person news reporting. Orato’s content gives people a reliable and trusted source for news, which fosters understanding, empathy, and compassion for the people who’ve been really impacted by those world events.
When reading an Orato story, you will notice several key things. These include:
- “Crystallizing moments” captured by the journalist while interviewing the subject. These are vivid descriptions of the seminal events, along with the emotional challenges and toll it took to survive and tell the tale.
- “Journalist’s Notes” – a section which reveals key details and research supporting the veracity of the story told by the subject, through the examination of other published content and public documents that corroborate the event.
- The absence of preconceived opinion or bias. The journalist composes the story in the words of the interview subject, giving readers the account of what that person endured without editorializing the first-person account or rendering an opinion.
- An array of multimedia assets depending upon the story. This may include video, photographs, copies of documents, etc.
Trust in first-person news
In every Orato story, you will encounter a real person, whose identity has been confirmed by the journalist, and who was personally impacted by a newsworthy event covered by traditional and reputable news organizations and/or verified through legitimate sources.
On those occasions when a subject may be exposed to risk to themselves or their families, Orato grants them anonymity. As a result, in every Orato story, readers gain confidence they are consuming a truthful account of a real person who served as an eyewitness, victim, survivor, hero, first-responder, agent, or official in a verified newsworthy event.
Join us today. Sign Orato’s #GlobalCooperationNow! petition and make a gift to the Orato World Media Foundation.
The Orato World Media Foundation Inc. is a non-profit corporation incorporated in the state of Delaware, USA in 2021 and certified by the IRS on March 25, 2022, as a tax-exempt entity from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 501(c)(3) that is qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers, or gifts under Section 2055, 2106 or 2522. This corporation’s mandate is to invest in the teaching, training and engagement of professional journalists to learn how to write first-person stories to thereby create a network of correspondents to interview, verify and produce first-person news stories from real people (eyewitnesses, survivors, whistleblowers, first responders, photographers, videographers to name a few) and who’ve been directly impacted by a current and or newsworthy event.
Wherever they may be located and in whatever language they speak, Orato’s journalists and correspondents will represent a community of professional writers dedicated to the task of reporting the news in the words of the interview subject after verifying the facts and collecting the evidence which establishes the veracity of the interview subject’s truthful account.
In addition to the above, this non-profit corporation will be dedicated to the establishment, publication, and production of Orato’s first-person content in as many commonly spoken languages as humanly possible. It will also focus on incorporating complimenting features into their online content which will increase the appeal like audio functionality and entertaining elements such as polls, petitions and puzzles.
