Perhaps it was unlikely that Project Word came to life in 2009, as it did. Certainly the core idea of Project Word defies the conventional thinking of the Internet Age and may seem an uphill battle on its face: 1) that good old-fashioned print newspapers and magazines were worth supporting, along with their many New Media alternatives, and 2) that diversity in the media, especially ethnic diversity, could be strengthened by practical measures even in perilous economic times.

The odds certainly weren’t encouraging. With the loss of some 35,000 journalists and editors in the past two years, Project Word knew that discriminating editors were busier than ever, working with ever less time and money, especially at print publications. We believed that this strained editors’ ability to take chances and to develop certain pieces in the public interest. But we believed that a nonprofit editor-at-large, working gratis with philanthropic support, could help editors overcome these obstacles—in a practical and narrowly focused way, entirely worth trying.

In particular, we believed that our extensive experience as a desk editor could provide valuable story development and vetting. We believed that this contribution could help editors publish important work and advance media diversity. At the same time we believed that in helping fellow editors, we could also help 1) writers whose work otherwise would go unpublished, 2) communities whose voices might otherwise go unheard, and 3) audiences hungry for strong public-interest narratives related to environmental and social issues. We believed that there was a niche to fill.

A sole caribou seen on Project Word's reporting trip to Gwich'in territory in Alaska, which resulted in an article that appeared in Resurgence magazine. Photo by Nicolas Villaume, 2009.

If 2009 is any indication, our belief has proved correct. Thanks to generous initial support for Project Word’s vision, we are happy to report that the first articles facilitated by Project Word have come to light—in The Nation, Resurgence, Guernica, Mother Jones, and The Boston Globe. It’s safe to say that these articles would not have appeared as they did without Project Word’s broad range of services: from grant-funded reporting, to intensive story development, to liaisoning with editors, to just a bit of assistance finding interview sources and an indigenous-language interpreter. But Project Word was only a catalyst for something that everyone wanted. We helped writers to do the job, editors to publish pieces they liked, and important ethnically diverse voices to reach the reader.

For the success in 2009, Project Word is especially grateful to the indigenous-focused foundation Christensen Fund (TCF), based in Palo Alto, California. In the past few years, the foundation has become particularly concerned that indigenous communities worldwide were facing the first and severest impacts of climate change—as harbingers for all of us. And it believed that their experiences deserved to be heard and shared. That concern went to the heart of Project Word’s mission.

Christensen’s generous 2009 grant to Project Word, which came with story development budget and strict respect for the editorial independence and mission of Project Word, helped writers and editors realize important stories on indigenous communities and climate change. The results were published stories from a range of indigenous communities worldwide: from Brazil (Mother Jones) and the Arctic (Resurgence and Guernica) to the Himalayas (The Boston Globe). Other articles are in the pipeline for 2010. So a special thanks to The Christensen Fund and especially program officer/consultant Gleb Raygorodetsky for his support. (For other TCF-funded work on climate change, check out the indigenous-led multimedia collaborative Conversations with the Earth. And for some of the work Project Word did in 2009, including with TCF support, see our recent news and blog posts.