The idea
Montenegrin online portal Ul Info set for themselves an ambitious goal – to reach new audiences in just 4 months by focusing on environmental topics with the help of their citizens, including the youngest ones. They managed to achieve this by integrating MoJo into their newsroom, training 10 reporters and successfully implementing an environmental media campaign.
Thanks to the Media for All project and efforts of their mentor Sanja Gardašević, Ul Info recognised and used the full potential of mobile journalism (MoJo). As a result, they increased efficiency, versatility, and responsiveness of their media.
News report aimed to involve environmental activists and allowing their voice to be heard on the topic. Source: Portal Ul- info Facebook page
The Starting Point
From the beginning of the process, Ul Info had a clear set of goals and a strong team but soon realised that in order to create the campaign around environmental issues in their hometown they needed a reliable source. Realising very early on the importance of understanding the needs of the local community, Ul info began the process of collecting information thanks to the ECR tool obtained by the project. After the first round of informating began to arrive, it was clear they were on the right track. Next step was Ul guidance in creating tagline, messaging, episodes and additional activities to make their work more impactful.
Illegal dumps on the Long beach in Ulcinj. First news report created as a part of campaign. Source: Portal Ul- info Facebook page
Mentorship Path
The mentoring worked as an ongoing conversation about current activities – sharing thoughts and advice, organising brainstorming sessions when needed, and planning out next steps.
The project was focused on capacity building – sourcing equipment, training reporters in MoJo and learning how to design and promote environmental campaign directed towards the public of Ulcinj. Ul Info team also used the opportunity for capacity building in storytelling, which they again connected to their work on the campaign and made their general MoJo reporting even more engaging.
Navigating challenges
According to Ul info’s mentor, two minor challenges arose during the project: finding MoJo equipment and the lack of vendors, as well as motivating the citizens of Ulcinj to participate in the ECR survey and submit examples of environmental issues in their neighbourhoods.
The team knew how to play to their individual strengths, and approached all activities with great professionalism. Their clear division of roles and tasks led to innovative solutions – MoJo equipment was sourced, while the ECR survey recorded numerous survey answers, with many more people reaching out to the media team directly after seeing the survey call.
“The project resonated with the needs of our community. As such, it resulted in great cooperation with relevant institutions, local government, civic sector, and citizens at large, and produced concrete actions on the field in terms of cleanup of illegal dumping grounds. It allowed us, aside from producing more diverse content, to strengthen our capacities and give everyone the opportunity to be part of the newsroom and tell their story.”- UL Info team
