Horace Mann - Spring 2017 - 11

HM Alumni Address "The Issues" in Their Work and Lives

Lara Setrakian '00
and News Deeply:
The Future of News is Now

or "the media"-the news side in
particular-the end of 2016 and
the start of 2017 was characterized
by criticism, second-guessing and
mea culpas from those both within
and outside the industry, concerning
coverage of the 2016 presidential election. From outside came accusations of "missing the story" and
"fake news" reporting. On the inside, traditional newspapers,
television networks, cable TV and online journalists were taking
stock and promising to "do better."
Lara Setrakian '00 and her innovative News Deeply news
source began "doing better" well before the current wave of
soul-searching-ever since September 2012 when she incorporated her news site, launching its first platform that December.
An important address for policy-makers, referenced often
by major news outlets, News Deeply (www.newsdeeply.com) is
a media and technology company that brings thought leaders
together, to enhance public engagement, and improve users'
understanding of complex global issues. It combines new technologies with traditional on-the-ground reporting, voices from
inside the story, analysis and images to provide a user-centered
resource that fuses news, live events, information design, and
social participation.
News Deeply has been called "The Future of News" by such
media players as Time magazine. When Syria Deeply emerged
unexpectedly in 2012 it quickly became a go-to resource for
putting the then growing conflict in Syria into context. The
site was impactful enough to be recognized, within its first
year, with the 2013 National Press Foundation's Excellence
in Online Journalism Award. Setrakian, herself, was named
a 2012 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum,
one of Marie Claire's Top Women of 2012, and a Top Young
Professional in Foreign Policy Under 33 by The Diplomatic
Courier in 2013. Former Secretary of State John Kerry stated
that Setrakian was doing "very important" work in "shed(ing)
light on Syria." The alumna has been hailed as "The Business
Analyst Changing the Face of Digital Journalism" by Inc.com
and "The Woman Who Wants to Change the World of News"
by Mashable.com, and in January 2017, at the height of media
criticism, Setrakian presented her thoughts on "Three Ways
to Fix a Broken News Industry" at TEDNY talk. These include
on-the-ground journalists covering what she calls "species
level" conditions; pledging to "do no harm" by demanding that
news agencies resist the temptation to use fear for ratings;
and "embracing complexity." https://www.ted.com/talks/
lara_setrakian_3_ways_to_fix_a_broken_news_industry.

An emergency crew model for necessary news
How is Setrakian transforming news? By building
upon the successful model she developed with Syria
Deeply-a single-topic web and mobile platform designed to be an information hub and conversation space
on the crisis in Syria, as the situation there became one
of the world's most critical. That model can be compared to one used by a health or natural disaster emergency crew in triage mode. Instead of rescuing souls, Setrakian
and her crew rescue news of great consequence from possible
obscurity. When the executive editor and her team deem that
a significant subject could benefit from News Deeply's focused
approach, they create a single comprehensive destination to
report the issue. A trusted journalist with expertise on the
subject is brought in as editor. This editor then recruits expert
reporters from around the globe to cover the subject or situation, so that, as Setrakian says, no community is "left unserved"
when it comes to "the important stories of our time."
News Deeply continues to host Syria Deeply, as the crisis
persists. But the site now also includes Arctic Deeply, Water
Deeply, and Refugees Deeply. Refugees Deeply, a critical source
of information for refugees and policy-makers, became even
more crucial in early 2017. But the site covers refugee situations
from many more locations than the Middle East. A "Women &
Girls Hub" provides news and analysis on their situation in developing countries. Flexibility is key to the impactful coverage News
Deeply provides. The site launched "Ebola Deeply" in fall 2014,
when mainstream media coverage of this epidemic often led to
scaremongering instead of providing the balanced information
needed. When the countries most affected deemed the Ebola
crisis under control News Deeply suspended its Ebola platform
and applied its energies to other pressing issues.
News Deeply claims over 200,000 readers directly and
millions more through republishing projects with NPR, The
Christian Science Monitor, The Huffington Post, and others, and
is regularly referenced by The Wall Street Journal, The New
York Times, CNN, BBC News, Wired, MSNBC, ABC News, The
Guardian, and more. "We're also being logged by the Library of
Congress," Setrakian notes. News Deeply's readers include important influencers. The site also logs longer visits than do others. As demand for News Deeply's product grows the site has
responded with better technology and new ideas. A for-profit "B
corporation" that pursues a positive social impact, News Deeply
also adheres to the Associated Press standard of separating
news from funding-source agendas. Setrakian raised $2.5 million for the company in its first round of venture capital funding.
The site earns continuing support from impact investors. Each
"Deeply" has been profitable, earning income from subscription
access, underwriting, philanthropic donations, and by offering
opportunities like webinars, expert conference calls, events,
and sponsored content. Project partners have included the
Doris Duke Foundation, the World Economic Forum, the Baker
Institute at Rice University, and Columbia University's Tow
Center for Digital Journalism, where Setrakian is a Post-Doc
Research Scholar.

Horace Mann Magazine Spring 2017

http://www.newsdeeply.com http://www.Inc.com http://www.Mashable.com https://www.ted.com/talks/lara_setrakian_3_ways_to_fix_a_broken_news_industry https://www.ted.com/talks/lara_setrakian_3_ways_to_fix_a_broken_news_industry

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Spring 2017