From high-level interviews in a new D.C. studio to on-the-fly conversations at events around the world, video is changing the way Devex is reporting international development news.
You may have noticed a growing focus on video on these pages as well as on the Devex YouTube channel (if not, please check it out and subscribe). For us, it’s another way to share the latest news, analysis and advice with people working hard every day to eradicate poverty and increase opportunity in the communities they serve.
“It’s partly to educate and provide advice, but also to humanize our industry,” said Devex Editor Rolf Rosenkranz of the heightened video focus. “It’s to put a face to what this community does, and we want everyone to join in.”
As boundaries between traditional and social media vanish, development organizations are grappling to keep up. One thing is clear: It takes more than just an easily digestible website, colorful infographic or smartly worded tweet to engage a global audience.
Earlier this year, Devex hired video producer Julie Espinosa to help expand our video capabilities and coverage around the globe. Before joining Devex, Espinosa post-produced independent documentary films that have aired on PBS and Showtime. She has taught documentary production and, as a master’s student in communication, culture and technology at Georgetown, created the university's first iTunesU course. The Austin native holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard in visual and environmental studies.
Espinosa encourages Devex reporters and contributors to get in front of the camera to share behind-the-scenes impressions on a story, and she captures goings-on at events in Washington and beyond. But the coverage won’t stop there.
In the hands of mainstream media, international development work can be reduced to a sobering scene in a refugee camp or a controversy around staff bonuses. Video can help to drive an image and a brand in a way that words alone often can’t. So it was natural for Devex’s growing newsroom to dive headfirst into the world of video to better serve an audience hungry for more comprehensive development coverage. We’re gearing up for more live reporting as well as other video formats to break news and showcase the work of the global development community.
If you have news or would like to share your story, expertise or vision with the global development community, and you’d like to do so using video, please email.
