An absolute honour to do the words for this. Dutch photographer Jelle Krings has spent three years documenting the experiences of #Ukraine rail workers resisting the Russian invasion, and the resulting #photography is both revealing and deeply moving. #ukrainewar
www.economist.com/interactive/...

www.economist.com/britain/2025... I've been interested in this topic (which is undoubtedly underreported) for years, so it was great to get a few hundred words about it out there and it certainly seems to have sparked conversation.

Brilliant to hear that there's a place where that model's still going strong! It's really ideal, I think.

That's really interesting - I'd love to know more! In the UK, most "local" news is owned by Reach PLC or similar, which set insane click per article targets for their journalists. Outlets like the Manchester Mill have begun to spring up, but stay small because they're so reliant on subscriptions.

The Guardian have over 1m supporters, which is great - but nearly half their budget is still supplied by the Scott Trust (an investment fund set up decades ago with the sole aim of ensuring its survival.) If TG were entirely dependent on donations, it would either have to fold or make massive cuts.

For sure, NPR is a great example of high-quality journalism being paywall free. And Wiki is amazing! I don't disagree exactly, but worth noting that the industry is on its knees right now (especially local journalism, which is a massive loss to our communities.) I don't think there's a simple fix.

Not defending the fact that good journalism is often hidden behind a paywall - but if there is a third option we need to find it.

I completely agree with this! The problem is that (without paywalls) sites have to rely on advertising. Which means the money they make correlates to the number of clicks per article. That then incentivises clickbait and the publication of what's popular above all else.