| Type | Private company, Foundation |
|---|---|
| Industry | Online media |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Headquarters | The Hague, The Netherlands |
| Key people | Thomas Loudon (Founder and CEO) Arend Jan van den Beld (Founder and CEO) |
| Website | VJ Movement |
| References: | |
The Video Journalism Movement, abbreviated VJ Movement, is a business and foundation headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.
The VJ Movement is an ongoing online collaboration between a global network of freelance professional video journalists, editorial cartoonists and, the public. All story and cartoon ideas (pitches) are suggested and voted on by VJ Movement members and contributors in the online newsroom. The elected story ideas are then produced by one of the video journalists (VJ) or cartoonists. The VJ Movement does not publish citizen journalism.
The VJ Movement is known for its approach to actively encourage contributors to provide different perspectives. All of the VJ Movement video journalists publish a background profile so the viewer can understand the perspective and potential biases of the journalist. By encouraging contributors to provide different perspectives, the VJ Movement promotes the growth of independent media.
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Founded in 2007, by Thomas Loudon and Arend Jan van den Beld, the VJ Movement was created on the belief that “There is more than one truth.” The VJ Movement launched its site on 5 October 2009.[1]
Thomas Loudon came up with the idea for the VJ Movement while covering the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. While talking with colleagues after long days of reporting in these war zones, Loudon realized two things: that many journalists could not do stories they wanted to do because editorial directors in far-off newsrooms believed other events were more important, and that when multiple journalists covered the same topic, they all ended up with entirely different stories. This is the basis of the VJ Movement concept, “There is more than one truth.”
Loudon contacted Van den Beld upon his return to The Netherlands to share his new concept of journalism. Van den Beld became inspired by Loudon’s experiences and was instrumental in transferring that concept into the VJ Movement internet platform.
The VJ Movement is funded by a variety of sources, including government programs, foundations that support free press, individuals, and direct contributions, membership and in-kind donations of training and equipment. Initially funded solely by the two founders, their friends and family, the VJ Movement now has partners, who share their vision of a global free press. The VJ Movement's partners are: Stichting Democratie en Media, Media Development Loan Fund[2], and Stimuleringsfonds voor de Pers.