Participative Talk: In or Out of Digital? Community Building as a Media

With: Martin Bodrero (StreetPress), Joanna Kopacka (n-ost), Tomáš Bella (Dennik N), Agathe Kupfer (Médianes) What happens when independent media step outside the screen and meet their audiences in real life? Journalism is increasingly shaped by platforms, metrics, and fragmented attention, so can physical encounters help rebuild trust, strengthen communities, and make media more sustainable? This conversation brings together three experiences of community-building beyond digital publishing: StreetPress’s Club, which turns readers into active supporters and participants in the life of the newsroom; n-ost’s kitchen talks, where journalists, media professionals, and audiences gather around a table to discuss journalism and its impact; and Denník N’s events, which bring readers into direct contact with the people and ideas behind the news. The discussion will ask what independent media gain by going offline: Does meeting readers in person deepen trust? Can events become a form of journalism in their own right? How can physical communities support editorial independence and long-term sustainability? And what can media learn from the people who show up, listen, question, and choose to stay?