A q&a on social media and journalism in the developing world

Sep 28 2012 under International | Leave a comment

A version of this article was originally published at The Daily Dot on September 28, 2012. It was produced by Vancouver-based writer Lorraine Murphy.

From the shores of Vancouver to the back roads of Liberia, reporter Travis Lupick has been there, done that, and filed it before dawn. Starting as a 15-year-old schoolboy hucking newsprint at his uncle’s alt-weekly, he worked his way up to Web editor and then took his talent overseas to some of the liveliest areas on the planet: Bangkok, Bhutan, Malawi, and Monrovia.

While still contributing to that same alt-weekly, The Georgia Straight, he freelances for Al Jazeera English, The Toronto Star, and Africa Report, among others. At this precise moment, he’s based in Monrovia, Liberia.

“I never did pursue an actual degree in journalism,” he said. “I felt like there was never time.”

During his travels, the freelance reporter found time to compile a list of journalists on Twitter, which inspired our own roundup. He uses Twitter in his own work as well, posting as @tlupick. He currently has more than 2,000 followers.

We spoke with Lupick via email about his list and online journalism in general. Having moved from the most Facebooked city in the world to a place where fewer than 5 percent of the population is even online, he’s in a unique position to give some perspective on social media, print journalism, and the sometimes all-too-real world.

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Journalists intimidated for reporting on female genital mutilation in Liberia

Apr 4 2012 under liberia | Leave a comment

A version of this article was originally published at the Georgia Straight on March 31, 2012.

When we walked into the makeshift office that a friend had set up on the outskirts of Monrovia, Liberia, it felt like we were entering war room.

The apartment was big and open, and buzzing with activity. On one side, a group of women sat around a table covered in papers, laptops, half-eaten snacks, and bottles of juice. Across the room, a second group had positioned themselves on a number of sofas. They also had laptops open and headphones plugged in.

It was Wednesday, March 28, and these journalists were working on a story about female circumcision in Liberia (the practice is also known as female genital cutting, or female genital mutilation). They had a scoop and were cooperating to see the news break simultaneously across a number of Liberian outlets on the morning of March 30.

What they already knew was that the Minister of Gender and Development, Julia Duncan-Cassell, had, in an exclusive interview for select members from the group, outlined the clearest position on FGC taken to date by the government of Liberia.

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Scribbles from the way back

Feb 1 2012 under malawi | Leave a comment

A rare personal note.

Ya, I jumped in the pool. Among expats in Blantyre, it’s sort of becoming something of a tradition. On your last night in Malawi, you set everybody up to meet at Doogles, get good and drunk, and at the end of the night, it’s your turn to jump in the pool.

I think it was Katie Lin that started it. She’s another Canadian journalist, now on her way to South America. And then there was Jayne, and maybe another after her. So I’m the third or the fourth.

Sketching this out, I’m on my way to Canada, writing on a bus travelling from Blantyre to Lilongwe. The first leg of a long journey for a quick trip back before leaving again. This time to Monrovia, Liberia.

I’m feeling nostalgic and listening to the Rolling Stones. “You Got to Move,” “Sweet Virginia,” “Thru and Thru,” “How Can I Stop.” The songs that I’ve always kept with me. The right numbers for the sort of fatigue that’s brought on by the feelings that come with leaving another home. I am tired.

Late home from the bar last night, I was packing my bags and took a minute to flip through my passport. It’s 14 months old and I’m on page 27. That sort of thing will make you tired.

This job is everything that I want. Well, a lot of what I want. That’s what the jump in the pool was all about. Another adventure complete. Celebrating one more day. A second taken to remind myself that there is a reason to continue and keep on moving.

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Time to breathe

Dec 13 2011 under malawi | 1 Comment

This past couple of weeks haven’t been much fun.

A moderate bout of malaria pretty-much floored me for a while. And now we’re coming up on the end of our time here in Malawi, which, for me, means regrets and endless dwellings on everything I could have accomplished, had I just had a little more time in this country.

There’s the uranium mine up in the north I wanted to visit, the refugee camp in the central region that I tried and failed (temporarily put-off) negotiating access to, the story on women with children in prison that I never got around to writing… Today, I think the list is something like 30-points long.

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On young and inexperienced freelancers in conflict zones

Nov 17 2011 under International | Leave a comment

A slightly-altered version of this article was first published at Journalism.co.uk on November 17, 2011. It was inspired by conversations on Twitter with Rob Crilly, Pakistan correspondent for the Telegraph, and Neal Mann, a journalist and digital news editor for Sky News.

There’s currently a discussion underway debating issues related to young and inexperienced journalists reporting from conflict zones.

The conversation started on Twitter during the battles for Benghazi and Tripoli, picked up when it landed on the New York Times Lens photography blog, and now continues at Guardian.co.uk, on personal websites such as that of Pakistan correspondent Rob Crilly, and, of course, on Twitter.

Readers are encouraged to view those articles before continuing.

Now, writing as a journalist with a few years experience but nothing in conflict zones, I’ll weigh in.

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On the “roaming reporter” and “backpack journalism” -Don’t do it.

Oct 8 2011 under International | 1 Comment

I was recently interviewed by Journalism.co.uk for an article for which I can’t remember the topic. The reporter, Sarah Marshall, and I fell into a conversation about the new realities of reporting abroad. We talked about the decline of foreign bureaus, the increasing-scarcity of writers contracts, and the severe financial hardships —not to mention the emotional toll— now so-often a part of working as an independent journalist abroad.

Sarah subsequently decided that somewhere in the transcript of our conversation, there existed the bare bones of a standalone feature.

The section of that piece pertaining to me appears below. To read the complete article, see “How to: become a roaming reporter“, at Journalism.co.uk.

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Malawi’s economic crunch hits the media hard

Sep 2 2011 under malawi | Leave a comment

This article was originally published at Canada’s Toronto Star on September 2, 2011.

“Dear brethren,” Leonard Chikadya, managing director of Blantyre Printing and Publishing, began the conclusion of a speech to staff on Aug. 30. “With a lot of pain in my heart, I have swallowed my pride and, reluctantly, decided that I am going to reduce our head count. I am going to reduce the number of colleagues that we have by 44.”

Speaking for the leadership of the largest publishing house in Malawi, Chikadya’s words soon reverberated throughout the media environment of the entire country.

And they were not the only ones.

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Matthew Doig, I’ll work for you (The best journalism-job want ad ever ever)

Mar 24 2011 under caught online | 1 Comment

This is floating around the internet today. Mother Jones is calling it “the best journalism-job want ad ever ever“. I’m inclined to agree. Though if we’re talking amusing journalism correspondence, Hunter S. Thompson’s 1958 cover letter for a job in Vancouver is up there too.

Regardless, Matthew Doig, I’ll work for you.

Here’s the want ad.

We want to add some talent to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune investigative team. Every serious candidate should have a proven track record of conceiving, reporting and writing stellar investigative pieces that provoke change. However, our ideal candidate has also cursed out an editor, had spokespeople hang up on them in anger and threatened to resign at least once because some fool wanted to screw around with their perfect lede.

We do a mix of quick hit investigative work when events call for it and mini-projects that might run for a few days. But every year we like to put together a project way too ambitious for a paper our size because we dream that one day Walt Bogdanich will have to say: “I can’t believe the Sarasota Whatever-Tribune cost me my 20th Pulitzer.” As many of you already know, those kinds of projects can be hellish, soul-sucking, doubt-inducing affairs. But if you’re the type of sicko who likes holing up in a tiny, closed office with reporters of questionable hygiene to build databases from scratch by hand-entering thousands of pages of documents to take on powerful people and institutions that wish you were dead, all for the glorious reward of having readers pick up the paper and glance at your potential prize-winning epic as they flip their way to the Jumble… well, if that sounds like journalism Heaven, then you’re our kind of sicko.

For those unaware of Florida’s reputation, it’s arguably the best news state in the country and not just because of the great public records laws. We have all kinds of corruption, violence and scumbaggery. The 9/11 terrorists trained here. Bush read My Pet Goat here. Our elections are colossal clusterfucks. Our new governor once ran a health care company that got hit with a record fine because of rampant Medicare fraud. We have hurricanes, wildfires, tar balls, bedbugs, diseased citrus trees and an entire town overrun by giant roaches (only one of those things is made up). And we have Disney World and beaches, so bring the whole family.

Send questions, or a resume/cover letter/links to clips to my email address below. If you already have your dream job, please pass this along to someone whose skills you covet. Thanks.

Matthew Doig

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
1741 Main St.
Sarasota FL, 34236
(941) 361-4903
matthew.doig@heraldtribune.com

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