ICFJ Voices: Anderson Meneses, Harnessing the Power of Hyperlocal Journalism

Anderson Menesesis the business and technology director at Agência Mural de Jornalismo das Periferias(Mural). Originally from São Paulo, Brazil, he's based in Recife and covers the São Paulo Metropolitan Region.

He says that his involvement with ICFJ has had a major positive impact on his career, including co-founding Mural.

"ICFJ's support in Latin America is essential given the growing challenges faced by the press, such as violence against journalists, democratic crises and the spread of disinformation," he says.

This interview has been edited slightly.

How have you been involved with ICFJ over the years?

I'm only where I am today because of ICFJ. In 2010 I was a student of one of your Knight Fellows, the Brazilian journalist Bruno Garcez, who developed a citizen journalism training that culminated in the meeting of the first local correspondents of Mural.

From then on, we created our own nonprofit local news organization, produced thousands of stories about underserved and underprivileged communities, and changed the perspective of how Brazilians look at and talk about those poor neighborhoods. Now, in 2024, we are celebrating 14 years of existence.

Throughout these years, ICFJ has been by our side, supporting the development of our organization and, indirectly and directly, my career as a journalist and fundraiser.

What was the biggest outcome from participating in the programs?

Accelerating Digital Businesses (2020)

In the ICFJ program in partnership with Meta, I was able to learn from talented and experienced professionals how to use audiovisual content to boost Mural's local coverage.

In addition to the knowledge-sharing sessions, we received financial resources and strategic mentoring to develop our first "instaserie," a series of videos designed vertically specifically to be distributed on Instagram. Called "Moda na Quebrada," we were able to hire young professionals from the neighborhoods we serve to tell the stories of people who could be changing the fashion industry in Brazil but had no visibility.

Elevate (2022)

In 2022, together with other Mural founders, we took part in ICFJ's Elevate program for organizational and business development. It was a few months of immersion in our business model, strategic plan and Mural's organizational issues. I learned how to prioritize decisions and actions based on data and numbers, putting the audience's needs first.

We know how to do local and hyperlocal journalism about the communities we serve, but we didn't have the business tools, the business experience and the business expertise to plan ahead, to look at our core strategically and to envision changes or expansions. It was a deep dive into an unexplored area of our organization.

We discovered, during this period of intense conversations and exchanges, that something we had been doing since 2010 - training young professionals (more than 600 so far!) - would have to be our second core business. We decided to officially launch "Clube Mural," a laboratory for practice and innovation in local journalism.

Clube Mural has already trained a new class of local correspondents funded by the Tide Setubal Foundation, developed a climate change training program in partnership with the American Consulate in Braziland is developing a course and mentoring program on "extreme poverty coverage" in the North and Northeast of Brazil in partnership with the Roberto Marinho Foundation.

Why is it so important right now to provide the kind of support to journalists that ICFJ does, especially in Latin America?

ICFJ's support in Latin America is essential given the growing challenges faced by the press, such as violence against journalists, democratic crises and the spread of disinformation.

In a region where media professionals are often threatened and intimidated, ICFJ provides a safety net in the field, ensuring that we can continue our work effectively and safely. In addition, the center is an important way of collaborating in the fight against fake news and debunking false narratives, which is vital for preserving the integrity of public information.

I also believe that ICFJ also plays a crucial role in promoting the sustainability of journalism in Latin America. In the context of financial difficulties for many media outlets, ICFJ's support is crucial for the development of new business models and sources of funding.

At the same time, being connected with ICFJ shows us possible paths for adopting innovative new technologies, such as data journalism and multimedia storytelling, strengthening our ability as journalists to reach and engage our audiences more effectively.

This support helps ensure that independent journalism remains a strong pillar of democracy in the region.

What are you currently working on that you're excited about?

I have been researching crowdfunding and membership models based on the individual donations campaign of Mural and 14 other organizations in Latin America.

I am a fellow of the Saberes Program of Rede Comuá, a local organization that invests in community philanthropy, and from the experience of our Tijolo por Tijolo campaign, I have collected good practices, insights and recommendations to increase the culture of individual donation and impact the results especially for nonprofit and local news organizations.

My research will result in a handbook that will be available for download for free and intends to help strengthen other journalism organizations and to interest colleges, students and professors, or new entrepreneurs too. It will be launched in November to join Mural's 14th anniversary celebration.

Why did you choose to become a journalist?

I didn't choose journalism, I was chosen by it.

I graduated from a communications college, but with a focus on advertisement and marketing, but I've worked in newsrooms since the beginning.

But even before that, in high school, I was already running a newspaper at the school, together with other classmates.

I believe that journalism is the basis for a strong democracy. Journalism is part of a way for us to feel more informed and secure about our realities and paths.

And I know that journalism is a great tool for us to reduce the inequalities that shake this world.

What's one piece of advice you'd give to an aspiring journalist?

Two main things: First, create a support network to strengthen you. Beyond the financial, I keep thinking about what other types of knowledge or access I need to have in order to go further.

I've said in my talks and events in which I participated that journalists need to make friends with people from other areas, such as lawyers, accountants, filmmakers, in short, people who can add knowledge and vision so that our journalism can have an impact.

And another point is persistence: It's not easy to create a journalism organization, but Mural celebrates its 14th anniversary in November and it is here to prove that it's possible.