World News Day is a campaign run by the World Editors Forum and the Canadian Journalism Foundation, offering a combined moment for newsrooms worldwide to celebrate the value of their journalism and showcase the impact it has had on the lives of their audience.
Last year 186 newsrooms participated. This year, we are seeking the support of 300 newsrooms to bring home the message that #JournalismMatters.
“Join the campaign and make the case for why your newsrooms, and what your journalists do, are important,” said World Editors Forum President, and Straits Times Editor in Chief, Warren Fernandez.
This year’s World News Day will use the lens of climate coverage as the focus of the campaign.
Globe and Mail Editor in Chief, David Walmsley, who founded World News Day, said: “Whether you’re in the smallest town in Africa or the largest metropolis in Latin America, we are connected by the issue of climate. World News Day is an opportunity to put the audience and journalism together onto a pedestal to say you know we’re in this together. It’s not about activism, but about showing the impact of journalism.”
World News Day coincides, deliberately, with UNESCO’s Access to Information Day.
What is World News Day?
- World News Day is a global campaign to display support for journalists and their audiences, who using facts and understanding, make the world a better place.
- On September 28, 2021, World News Day will highlight the critical importance of fact-based journalism in providing trustworthy information about the future of our planet and its people.
- We are aiming to unite more than 300 newsrooms to drive home the message that trustworthy journalism matters if people are to make informed decisions about our planet’s future.
I run a newsroom. Why should we take part in World News Day?
- World News Day is an opportunity to step back from the news cycle and promote the impact of your journalism — seen through the eyes of your audience and those who have been affected by it — on a truly global scale.
Why is the focus of this year’s World News Day on the climate emergency?
- COVID-19 taught us that we are all connected and it has shown how focused journalism can make a difference. We face a common threat in the degradation of our planet and it is a universal theme we can use to demonstrate why #JournalismMatters.
I want to participate. What do I need to do?
- Send us an email (to Alexander Jones, Global Project Coordinator, at ajones@worldnewsday.org) agreeing to promote World News Day on September 28 to your audience through your editorial channels and/or social media networks. Or, better still, hold your own audience-facing event — such as a webcast or forum.
- We will add your logo to the cohort of participating newsrooms from all over the world. We are aiming for participation from more than 300 news organizations.
- Ahead of World News Day, we will ask you to share with us one piece of your best (and timeless) pieces of journalism on the climate emergency. This will be collated and published on the World News Day website on September 28 as part of a global showcase of journalism.
- We will share with all participating newsrooms, ahead of World News Day, a selection of editorial articles and marketing materials. This will allow you to publish a special feature or supplement on World News Day and coordinate your own promotional campaign.
What is the connection to the International Day for Universal Access to Information (IDUAI)?
- World News Day deliberately takes place on a day of great importance to journalists and civil society (September 28) — when we stress the value of credible information. Access to information is particularly important in confronting the climate emergency.
