Joe Mitchell, PINF’s deputy director, takes over the blog today to thoroughly embarrass Hani Barghouthi, our departing Head of Advocacy (and blog manager), while Hani shares some departing thoughts.
First, we asked Hani to provide some valedictory wisdom on his two years with PINF:
Over and Out
It’s difficult to overstate how different the view from PINF looks today than it did when I joined it in 2022.
Having been recruited as the organisation’s third (!) employee, I moved to London from Amman and met Jonathan and Joe at a coworking space in Vauxhall with lighting choices that were woefully inadequate against the grey November sky.
As Campaigns Manager, I was tasked with adding policy advocacy to the exciting—but, in retrospect, modest—roster of research and capacity-building projects the small but mighty team was already carrying out.
Today, as I tie up loose ends and prepare my handover notes, I’m allowed to blow PINF’s trumpet a bit more loudly than the rest of the team (with their very British sensibilities) may perhaps feel comfortable doing.
And so, I will!
Some of the projects my then-new colleagues spent that first day in Vauxhall catching me up on continue today in some form or another, and the values and vision that drove the work then are still very much guiding it today.
Since 2022, however, PINF has grown to become a trusted authority that can comfortably convey the trials, tribulations and innovations of the indie news sector to policymakers and funders. And we can do that because we have, at the same time, deeply embedded the organisation in that sector, continuously learning from the news providers we exist to support.
We have a significantly larger team, though still comfortably fitting in the ‘small but mighty’ category. In the place of several projects that tackled different issues facing the sector in experimental and sometimes disconnected ways, we now have a cohesive slate of programmes that seeks to address the crisis in news in complementary and systematic ways.
In the last two years, we have established a vibrant network of 100 indie news providers doing amazing work all around the country. We have facilitated hundreds of thousands of pounds in new revenue in the sector while securing significant legislative wins that could generate much more.
We have also developed the most comprehensive map of local news provision in the UK, assembled a formidable group of leaders to make the case for government support and launched a successful nationwide campaign for indie news.
In building an understanding of what it means to be an indie news provider today, I hope we have made the case for supporting their work much more compelling. In strengthening relationships with political and philanthropic leaders, I hope we are empowering ourselves and others to make that urgent case more successfully.
And in facilitating connections and opportunities for the providers with whom we work, I hope we have made the invaluable but isolating—and far too often thankless—job of bringing hundreds of underserved UK communities the news they deserve a little bit easier.
The work, of course, is nowhere near finished.
In some ways, the existential challenges facing journalism in the UK have only proliferated in the last two years. Traditional business models are in freefall, driven by tech greed and a vacuum of public support.
Without substantial changes in public policy, philanthropic practices, tech regulation and audience habits, these providers would need several miracles (each) to keep carrying out their already threatened work.
And communities that rely on them stand to be the biggest victims of this crisis, with their right to access relevant, trustworthy information being eroded with every new closure or round of reporter layoffs.
But what PINF has done so brilliantly over the last few years is develop its ability to tackle those challenges in sustainable and potentially transformative ways. And its plans to do so are so very exciting.
It has been a privilege and a true pleasure getting to play a small role in that in my time with this endlessly supportive team. Working at PINF, collaborating with partners in the UK and beyond and learning from the dedicated indie news providers for whom I have been advocating has been more enriching and inspiring than I could have hoped for.
It has also, and I cannot stress this enough, been really fun.
I am genuinely sad to be leaving this team and organisation when they look to be on the precipice of so much greatness. But the journalism support world is incredibly collaborative across borders, and I’m sure our paths will cross again.
Until then, my only consolation is that I get to cheer them on from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean while reading their latest in the newsletter I’ve (sometimes reluctantly) written every week for the last two years.
P.S. Before I set off to the US, I’ll be at the Indie News Forum in Glasgow next week, so do come and say hello/goodbye then!
Over to you, Joe.
Thanks, Hani!
Second, I can write for everyone at PINF when I say we’re gutted to see Hani go. He’s been a wonderful colleague and has achieved great things in just two years with us, from the UK’s first Indie News Week and match-funding scheme for news providers, to successfully pursuing public interest amendments to game-changing legislation in Westminster.
Everything we do at PINF aims to serve the public interest, and we typically do that by supporting indie news providers. I’ve asked a few providers for their thoughts on working with Hani. Hankies at the ready!
‘Just wish to pay credit to Hani for his endless patience and good humour in co-ordinating the match-funding offer this year. The fund has given me a much-needed break in terms of gaining hours - better for my sanity, better for The Bridge's future.” Wendy Robertson, The Bridge.
‘Hani has been so lovely to work with from afar, and I only wish we’d been able to work together in person more! I remember the first time I met him in person, at the Cable offices, thinking he was a warm and friendly person off the bat. Sad to see you go Hani, keep in touch!" Eliz, Bristol Cable
‘I thoroughly enjoyed working with Hani on the News for All and Indie News Week campaigns. He was a great manager - consistent, clear and well organised - and obviously genuinely cared about protecting independent news. Aside from that, I felt like I made a friend. His natural warmth always made me feel at ease, and I'll miss our catch ups on zoom. Hani - good luck with your new ventures!’ Silvia Rose
‘The Indie News Fund gave us an amazing opportunity to raise matched funding from local supporters. We're massively grateful for all Hani's hard work getting that off the ground as part of the first ever Indie News Week. Good luck, Hani!’ David Floyd, Social Spider CIC
‘Working with Hani has been a pleasure. His creativity and fresh ideas have led to some of PINF's most successful initiatives, particularly the News for All campaign and the inaugural Indie News Week. He has a unique ability to bring people together and foster a sense of community.’ Rhys Everquill, Leicester Gazette
‘Hani is one of the most wonderful and capable people I have ever met. His accomplishments speak for themselves and the contributions he has made to UK media cannot be overstated. However mostly it is humour, charm, kindness and driven capability that I will miss the most.’ Thomas Barlow, Impress and IMA
Blimey. You’d better look after him, Detroit!
Next week, we’ll welcome Beckie Shuker, who is joining PINF in the role of Campaigns and Communications Manager.