Andreea Groenendijk-Deveau: Why We Still Need Journalism, Especially in the Philanthropy Space

I started working as a journalist when I was 16. In my 20s, I was the youngest person to be promoted as deputy editor in chief of a national daily newspaper. I had a huge team of journalists under my supervision. I slept for 4 hours a night and – many times at great personal cost – my performance was off the charts. And still, at one of the board meetings for the media group, a guy asked me if I could make the coffee for everyone. I was the only woman there.

A Great Age For Women

The world has changed a lot, for both me as a journalist and me as a woman. And while we are living in an amazing age for women, journalism is struggling. Saying ‘I’m a journalist’ used to command great respect. It gave me access to some of the great leaders of our time – one of which, Jack Welch, changed my view on management and journalism altogether. He, unfortunately, passed away last week. As I was thinking about some of the things I wanted to share about journalism, I was reminded of why I started out in this great profession – to have the power to bring information and inspiration to people. It was an extraordinary power to have.

Now, journalism has become – for so many people – a synonym for the “fake news” current that has ultimately destroyed the trust in what we knew as the Fourth Estate.

However…

I promise you, the world still needs journalism. Not only is it at the core of our education on a wide range of topics, of our being informed about the world around us, but it also trickles down deep into our daily lives – from the way we vote to the way we run our businesses, how we work with our colleagues or whether we spend our free time helping others.

So, with that in mind, we launched a media outlet dedicated to the philanthropy space – KindLink Global.

And although I say the “philanthropy space”, we are not an outlet for positive news – the media has already aggressively tipped the scales towards negativity. We are not looking to do the same, but in reverse. What we want to do is to provide people with unbiased news about the philanthropy sector and with the inspiration they need to continue doing good in the world – whether through giving them actionable insights or through showing them what their peers are doing in other companies or in other parts of the world. We will show what people and companies are doing right, and we will learn from those who make mistakes. We will give space to the unsung heroes moving the needle for individuals, communities, and the environment.

Why Us

Every single day I am proud to go into the office and work with a team of people who have dedicated their lives to bringing good into the world through boosting the efforts of companies and charities, impacting lives around the world. Whether you are a company, a nonprofit or an individual looking to do their bit to make the world better, follow us and let us be your partner on this journey.

Andreea Groenendijk-Deveau is the Editorial Director of KindLink Global and a Co-Founder of KindLink.