Demotix was founded on the cross-roads of activism and journalism, by people with a passion for both.
The Problem
We want to get away from the official narratives and big breaking stories that are all we usually hear from countries distant from our own. Large media organisations, like the newswires, are trying to cover the whole world with their dwindling resources. Newspapers buy that coverage and print it.
We don’t think that’s good enough; it doesn’t do justice to the people and places being reported on, and it doesn’t always inform the people reading the news about what’s really going on, or how it feels to be involved.
The Opportunity
Technological advances mean that it’s now possible for ordinary people to create media and to share it with others all around the world. Every year, cameras are improved, internet connections become faster, and smartphones become more capable of replacing both. There are more resources online every day to help you improve your photography and journalism.
Everyone has always had their own perspective on events happening near them - now you have a chance to share what you’re seeing, and how you see it, with the world.
The Result
Over the last few years, we’ve seen the potential that technology affords us to organise ourselves and to tell each other about our corners of the world as we experience them.
We realise that we have to be constantly on our guard against the forces who would inhibit the free flow of information among us, whether it be draconian intellectual property legislation in developed nations or authoritarian governments elsewhere in the world. That hasn’t stopped you, with our help, covering some of the most amazing stories of recent times - wars, uprisings, financial crises and natural disasters - as well as the everyday reality where you live.
Fair Pay
A culture has sprung up suggesting that there’s so much news and information around now that no-one should have to pay for it. News organisations suggest that citizen or freelance reporters and photojournalists should be grateful to even be credited when their work is published by a news organisation that’s earning money from it.
We don’t agree.
We know how much hard work you have to put in and the dangers you run to get your stories to us. That’s why we’ll never give your images away for free, why we’ll never ask for the copyright for your images, and why we’ll pursue on your behalf anyone who uses your images without paying or asking permission.
