Mapping Live Journalism across Europe: stories you can feel

Over the past months, I’ve found myself in long conversations with friends and colleagues, journalists, theatre makers, and producers, who were experimenting with something that sounded rather exciting: live journalism.

It’s a form of storytelling where journalists bring their reporting directly to audiences, on stage, in cafés, or in public spaces, blending facts, performance, and emotion to create a shared experience of truth.

At first, I was skeptical, wondering if this was just another gimmick. People would describe it vividly and enthusiastically, but I felt I had to see it and experience it myself to truly grasp what it meant. So I began searching for it and found it in Amsterdam, Lisbon, Madrid, Vienna, and Helsinki.

What I saw moved me deeply. I’ve seen people cry, laugh, and ask questions mid-performance in front of strangers. I’ve witnessed stories unfold not on a screen but in a shared space; and felt how that changes everything: the relationship between journalist and citizen, fact and feeling, story and truth.

Each encounter underscored a reality we often overlook in journalism: truth alone doesn’t move people; connection and empathy do. Live journalism offers a space for us to process information emotionally and collectively; it reframes journalism as a civic and artistic experience.

This journey led me to create the first European Live Journalism map, a tool to document and connect this emerging field. Published by the European Journalism Centre (EJC), it’s the first attempt to make visible what already exists: a growing network of people reimagining journalism as something we can experience together.

Why this map and why now?

Journalism is facing a crisis of connection. Attention and audiences are fragmented, trust is fragile, and many citizens feel left out of public debate. Yet everywhere I look, there are creative practitioners, from local reporters to theatre collectives ,inviting people back into the conversation.

And in the age of artificial intelligence, perhaps we need to take a step back,  to reconnect not only with technology, but with one another.
Live journalism reminds us that truth isn’t just transmitted; it’s shared. It happens when people are in the same room, listening and feeling together.

Through this map, EJC aims to codify the knowledge emerging from these experiments and connect all of us, practitioners and lovers of live journalism, across borders and mediums.
By documenting this landscape, we hope to connect the dots between pioneers already experimenting with live journalism, spark new collaborations, and inspire others to bring journalism closer to their communities.

At EJC, we believe that rebuilding trust in journalism also means reimagining its spaces and forms. That’s why our cross-sector work increasingly connects journalism with other fields, from science to the arts, to explore how knowledge, creativity, and participation can work together to strengthen the public sphere.

What qualifies to be on the map?

The map features initiatives that combine journalistic practice with live, in-person engagement: performances, assemblies, or participatory events that are based on factual storytelling or original reporting.

These might be:

• Theatre shows rooted in journalism,
• Live investigations presented on stage,
• Participatory storytelling or community dialogues,
• Or hybrid performances where art and evidence meet.

Not every journalistic event performed live qualifies: for example, a podcast recorded in front of an audience may be a live event, and we can call it engaged journalism. But it isn’t live journalism unless the performance fundamentally changes the way the story is shared and felt. The difference lies in intent, form, and relationship with the audience, not in the presence of an audience alone.

To keep the map credible, all entries are verified by EJC to ensure they follow journalistic ethics and are based on verified information. Projects that are purely artistic, opinion-driven, or promotional won’t be included.

Photo credits: All images courtesy of Diario Vivo