5 Powerful TED Talks on Journalism by Journalists
Journalist Alison Hill shares five (OK, maybe six) powerful TED Talks on journalism by journalists, including the talks themselves.
If you’re a big fan of TED Talks and interested in journalism, then you’re in the right place. Over the years, I’ve covered everything from investigative journalism to AI, and I sincerely hope you’re enjoying these columns and my take on the industry. But I think it’s time to spotlight some of the incredible individuals on the journalism frontlines.
So here are five powerful TED talks by media professionals in various fields. We kick off with a fascinating talk on the Panama Papers, the biggest data leak in history, followed by talks on international journalism and war reporting, two fields I haven’t yet tackled. And finally…we close with some positive news—an interesting dive into solutions journalism.
How the Panama Papers journalists broke the biggest leak in history. Gerard Ryle, TED Summit, (June 2016)
Gerard Ryle is the director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) in Washington, DC. In this TED talk he shares the story behind the biggest journalism collaboration in history, which offered an unprecedented look into the secretive world of offshore finance. Ryle led a worldwide team of journalists working on the Panama Papers, the 11.5 million documents leaked from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, based in Panama. The documents reveal how the rich and famous hide their money offshore and exploit tax havens. The 2016 release of the Panama Papers led to resignations of government leaders, several arrests, and regulatory reforms.
You can search and browse the Panama files: offshoreleaks.icij.org.
3 Ways to Fix a Broken News Industry, Lara Setrakian, TEDNYC, (January 2017)
Journalist Lara Setrakian, co-founder and CEO of News Deeply, shares three ways we can ‘fix the news industry’ to better inform the public about the biggest issues of our time and ensure important stories are never ‘left behind.’ She states the need for specialized and beat journalism, forming partnerships with local journalists in different countries, news industry accountability, resisting the temptation to use fear for ratings, and the embracing of complexity. She gently reminds us that the news is “adult education.”
Before starting News Deeply, Setrakian, a self-described ‘industrious optimist,’ was Middle East correspondent for ABC News and Bloomberg Television.
War Journalism should be rooted in empathy — not violence. Bel Trew, TEDx Berlin, (February 2024)
“Subconsciously we’d realized that the most impactful way to show the devastation of war, was in the image of a teenage boy, his hedgehog, and his heartbreak.”
These are the compelling words of Bel Trew, an international correspondent, photographer, and documentary filmmaker, who since 2011 has reported on uprisings, disasters, and wars from Ukraine to Gaza. Trew is calling for war reporting to be rooted in compassion and truth, moving beyond the constant focus on violence and including more stories highlighting the human toll of war.
“As a journalist, I’m among the few people who really can and should talk to all sides,” states Trew. “We live in a world where there are 1,001 ways to communicate and yet we’ve completely forgotten how to speak to each other.”
Life on the frontlines of war reporting. Jane Ferguson, TEDWomen 2023, (October 2023)
Journalist Jane Ferguson has covered almost every major conflict in the 21st century, and after two decades in the war reporting trenches, has observed the profession shifting from a male dominated space to majority female. The nature of war reporting today and therefore how wars are perceived by the public, has been changed by women taking the lead, according to Ferguson. She adds that the “types of stories that are covered, the angles that are taken, have been shaped by the fact more and more women are reporting them.”
Originally from Northern Ireland, Jane Ferguson is a war reporter and foreign correspondent for PBS and The New Yorker.
Is This the Time of Monsters — or Miracles? Angus Hervey, TED 2025, (April 2025)
The Good News You Might Have Missed. Angus Hervey, TED 2024, (April 2024)
Okay, it’s technically a total of 6 TED Talks, but I thought I’d include two talks by solutions journalist Angus Hervey. They’re both so compelling, I couldn’t choose. Plus, good news is refreshing, don’t you think?
Angus Hervey reveals the ‘hidden progress’ and the overlooked triumphs and accomplishments that persevere while it seems like the world is collapsing. If you watch the mainstream news, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all over. But did you know that in 2023 almost one in five children got fed in school? Sea turtle populations are increasing worldwide. And in 2024 fewer people died of natural disasters than almost any year in history? These are just a few of the underreported global wins Hervey shares in these podcasts.
“If we want more people to devote themselves to the task of making progress, then maybe we should be telling more people that it’s possible to make progress,” says Hervey.
Angus Hervey is the founding editor of Fix The News, an independent media company that shares stories of human progress.
Alison Hill is a freelance writer, journalist, and Emmy-nominated producer who writes for print and online publications. Since 2001, Alison has been a regular guest commentator on BBC radio news shows discussing US politics and current events. Before going solo, she was a PBS producer and director and also worked as an investigative journalist for a Welsh TV series. From hosting TV shows and creating online content to going undercover with a hidden camera, she’s done it all. Alison grew up in a tiny village in Wales and speaks fluent Welsh. She’s an avid hiker, who also loves camping, kayaking, and reading. She now lives in South Carolina with her husband, 8-year-old daughter, and two rescue cats.
