Our Mission

Spaceship Media launched in 2016 with a mission to reduce polarization, build communities, and restore trust in journalism.

Our Philosophy

Careful listening and empathy are vital to supporting meaningful civic dialogue and easing polarization and we believe journalism is essential in that process – which ultimately strengthens our democracy. To do that right, the best journalistic values — fairness, thorough research, accuracy — must be held to now more than ever.

Our Strategy

We go right to the heart of problematic situations by bringing people from communities in conflict – or that simply aren’t communicating – together into a journalism-supported dialogue. We amplify that process by working with our news partners to tell the stories that arise organically from those conversations.

We Take Action

We work with media organizations and others on several different levels. We design and manage engagement conversations from the ground up; we provide design and ongoing consulting support; we provide consulting around our engagement values and methodology and project visioning.

The Seven Steps to Dialogue Journalism

1. The Build

We work with news organizations to identify communities that aren’t talking or are in conflict and design a Conversation Experience through which they can engage constructively.

2. The Gather

We explore with each of these communities what they think of one another and what they would like to know about the other.

3. The Welcome

We bring the communities together in an environment designed to welcome people as individuals not simply as avatars of a particular political, social or cultural position

4. The Experience

We support an experience that revolves around the participants as much as if not more than our aims or those of the sponsoring organizations; it is a rare opportunity to engage deeply with others with whom they disagree.

5. The Carry

We moderate our conversations closely, helping people engage respectfully with one another and using tested techniques to help create a productive experience.

6. The Nourish

As conversations grow, we support them with reporting and research that provides information to the participants, with the aim of establishing an agreed-upon foundation of facts for their discussions.

7. The Share

With newsroom partners, we uncover stories generated in the conversation, including ongoing questions and issues relevant to the community — this amplifies the conversation’s impact and provides additional opportunities for engagement.

Our Partners