Monica Jory
Service Design | CX | Innovation
WEB3
DAO
FUTURES DESIGN
Welcome to the future of news
A human-centred approach to news production using web3 technologies - rebuilding public trust in journalism through a decentralised, community-governed platform.
ROLE
Design Lead, Researcher
TEAM
3 designers
CONTEXT
Emerging Tech studies
University of Sydney
OUTPUT
Manifesto, Roadmap, Digital Engagement Framework
01 - OVERVIEW
Framing the right problem
Trust in mainstream news is at an all-time low. Audiences have moved online to non-mainstream sources where fake news, opinion and commentary blur the line between fact and fiction.
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We were asked to explore whether emerging Web3 technologies could help rebuild trust in news and media organisations - and what a credible, community-governed alternative might look like in practice.
"How might we create a completely different news service to solve for the problem of distrust?"
02 - RESEARCH
Challenging our assumptions
We combined desk research, competitor analysis and online ethnography to understand what audiences actually need from a news source they can trust.
KEY INSIGHTS
THREE CORE NEEDS SURFACED
CLOSENESS
PARTICIPATION
KNOWLEDGE
03 - SOLUTION
Proximity News - a DAO for journalism
We proposed a Decentralised Autonomous Organisation (DAO) where journalists, designers and the public co-create a credible news ecosystem. Editorial decisions, funding and accountability all live on-chain - visible, verifiable and shared.
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The deliverables included a manifesto for the platform, an implementation roadmap, and the strategic principles needed to onboard newsrooms and audiences without alienating either.