What can journalists do when Europe is under siege?

A few years ago, I argued with an editor about Ukraine coverage. We could hire additional reporters, and I pointed out that research showed housing to be a key concern and reporting opportunity. My colleague – with extensive war reporting experience – was outraged: "We have decades of journalistic legacy! We're not competing with rental websites!"

Of course, he made a valid point about covering an active war, and I had no intention of minimizing that coverage. But two things can be true: documenting the war's developments matters AND people need practical information during crises. It was a reminder of limited resources – both in what to report on and the scarce time and energy people have for news consumption – and that ultimately, they have agency in choosing what to spend their time on. These difficult editorial choices aren't as self-evident as we often think.

Taras Yatsenko from Tvoe Misto kindly invited me to join a conversation on Saturday where I hope to better articulate my thoughts than I did back then. We'll discuss our responsibilities as journalists in this moment of siege on free Europe, and the tension between the roles we want to play versus those we can actually fulfill as we come to terms with our inability to control the public debate.

If you're in Perugia, join us.