5 Ideas From Perugia That Could Reshape Journalism

Key Takeaways

• Live journalism events are selling out 1,000-seat venues as audiences seek unrecorded, human storytelling
• German nonprofit Correctiv is building a network of 50+ European theaters to perform investigative journalism
• The format shift suggests audiences will pay for journalism experiences they can't get from a screen

What Happened in Perugia

The International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy drew more than 2,000 journalists and 526 speakers for four days in April. The event has become one of the industry's most important gatherings for discussing what comes next as traditional news business models continue to contract.

Jeremy Caplan, who writes the Wonder Tools newsletter and spoke on a panel about AI's impact on journalism training, attended 15 sessions beyond his own. He identified five ideas that stuck with him. Each points toward journalism that's more human, more sustainable, and more inventive.

Live Journalism Is Filling Theaters

The standout trend: live journalism events are drawing real audiences. Madrid-based Diario Vivo puts journalists and ordinary people on stage to tell personal stories. Nothing is recorded. Audiences don't know what stories they'll hear when they arrive.

“The format is designed to make people laugh and cry and to restore trust between journalists and the public.”

— Vanessa Rousselot, founder of Diario Vivo

The numbers show real growth. Diario Vivo started in 2017 with 100 people in the audience. Now they sell out 1,000-seat venues. More than 25,000 people have attended their shows across various cities.

Investigations Become Theater

Correctiv, a German nonprofit newsroom known for investigative reporting, takes a different approach. They turn their investigations into theater performed by professional actors. Editor in chief Jean Peters said Correctiv is building a network of more than 50 theaters across Europe to distribute journalistic productions.

The ambition is notable. Correctiv isn't treating theater as a one-off experiment. They're building distribution infrastructure for a new format.

“Each two-hour theater performance is equivalent to 3.6 million seconds spent on TikTok, but with a much bigger impact.”

— David Schraven, publisher of Correctiv

The Live Format's History

These projects follow Pop-Up Magazine, which launched in California in 2009. Pop-Up hosted sold-out shows for tens of thousands of people across North America until closing in 2023. The pandemic devastated their business model, which depended entirely on in-person events.

Diario Vivo, Correctiv, and others are now reviving the live journalism movement. The difference from Pop-Up's era: they're launching after audiences have experienced three years of digital fatigue and screen exhaustion.

Why This Matters for News Business Models

The live journalism movement suggests something important about audience behavior. People will pay for experiences they can't get from a screen. They'll sit in a theater for two hours to hear stories they could read in five minutes online.

The trust element is significant too. Rousselot's comment about restoring trust between journalists and the public points to a real problem. Digital news consumption is often adversarial. Readers arrive skeptical. Comments sections become battlegrounds. Live events create a different dynamic.

For news organizations struggling with declining subscriptions and advertising revenue, live events offer a diversified income stream. They also create community in ways that digital products rarely do.

The AI Question Underneath

Caplan's own panel addressed how journalism training evolves when AI does entry-level work. This connects to the live journalism trend in an interesting way. If AI can summarize, transcribe, and draft basic news stories, what remains distinctly human? Presence. Connection. The unreproducible moment of being in a room together.

The live journalism movement may be, in part, a response to AI's rise. As more text becomes machine-generated or machine-assisted, the value of genuine human performance increases. You can't automate Diario Vivo.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is live journalism?

Live journalism refers to events where journalists and storytellers perform news stories or personal narratives on stage for live audiences. Nothing is recorded. The format aims to create emotional connection and rebuild trust between journalists and the public.

What is Diario Vivo?

Diario Vivo is a Madrid-based organization that puts journalists and ordinary people on stage to tell personal stories. Founded in 2017 by Vanessa Rousselot, it started with 100-person audiences and now sells out 1,000-seat venues.

How is Correctiv using theater for journalism?

Correctiv, a German nonprofit newsroom, turns its investigative reports into theater productions performed by professional actors. They're building a network of more than 50 theaters across Europe to distribute these journalistic performances.

What happened to Pop-Up Magazine?

Pop-Up Magazine launched in California in 2009 and hosted sold-out live journalism shows across North America. The organization closed in 2023 after the pandemic devastated their in-person event business model.

What was the International Journalism Festival in Perugia?

The International Journalism Festival in Perugia, Italy is a major industry gathering that drew over 2,000 journalists and 526 speakers in 2024 for four days of discussions about the future of news and journalism.

Source: Fast Company / Jeremy Caplan