The Public Source
(Lebanon)
Challenges
In environments with contested narratives, consumers often only get told part of the story.
Solution
Slow down, fill in gaps, and collaborate.
The Public Source was founded to provide independent investigative reporting in Lebanon, amidst ongoing challenges of an economic crisis, corruption, and the fallout from the Beirut blast in 2020.
Very early on, The Public Source decided that it was not very interested in reporting on who met with whom, and what was said at a press conference. “We were more interested in covering what was happening after the dust had settled,” said editor-in-chief Lara Bitar.
The approach allows them to bring overlooked voices to the fore, and provide unique angles. The Public Source created the only available comprehensive list of the people killed in the Beirut explosion, as well as carrying out in-depth interviews with people disabled by the blast.
The time and resources required by slow journalism raise the stakes for distributing it in a way that will resonate.
The Public Source is in a “never-ending phase of experimentation” according to Bitar. This involves quarterly assessments of their organizational structure, their work and its outcomes, used to refine their strategy.