Hostwriter

Hostwriter is an award-winning network that helps journalists to easily collaborate across borders. We see cross-border journalism as a tool to solve two pressing global challenges: to raise the quality of foreign reporting and to overcome Western bias within the global news narrative. By connecting international media professionals in 150+ countries, providing training in “Cross-Border Journalism” and launching projects that shed light on unequal power dynamics within the field, Hostwriter enables a new kind of journalism that is as diverse as the societies it serves.

Hostwriter was founded in 2013 by German journalists Tabea Grzeszyk (German National Radio), Tamara Anthony (ARD Correspondent) and Sandra Maria Wild (WELT-group). Today, the non-profit organization has 6 employees and 3 freelancers and collaborates with 30 voluntary „Hostwriter ambassadors“ around the world. Hostwriter has an honorary Supervisory Board that is chaired by lawyer Jutta Freifrau von Falkenhausen.

Hostwriter has received institutional funding from the Dutch Adessium Foundation since 2016, as well as project funding from Rudolf Augstein Foundation, Robert Bosch Foundation, Advocate Europe, Otto Sprenger Foundation, Medienstiftung Hamburg/Schleswig-Holstein, Social Impact Lab, Vocer Innovation Medialab and others. In 2018, the team won the Jury Prize at the Google Impact Challenge Germany. As a member of the „Initiative Transparent Civil Society“ by Transparency International Germany, Hostwriter publishes its financial records annually online.

Digital Network: Hostwriter’s open-source network connects more than 4,800 journalists from 150+ countries for mutual collaboration and information exchange. Through our HostWIRE chatroom, members learn about and share dozens of collaboration and funding opportunities each month.

Training: Hostwriter provides workshops and trainings for journalists at all career levels in the Method and Mindset of Cross-Border Journalism. We also develop digital security modules tailor-made for the needs of cross-border investigations.

Cross-Border Projects: The primary goal of our core projects is to diversify the global news narrative and strengthen cross-border journalism around the globe:
- Hostwriter Prize: Annually awards funding to cross-border collaborations between members.
- Ambassador Network: These key members serve as Hostwriter’s eyes and ears on the ground in their regions.
- Agora Global: Seeks to scale up our cross-border journalism program „The Agora Project“ on all continents.
- Unbias the News: Spreads awareness of unconscious bias and the lack of diversity in today’s journalism.