This website is run by me, Victor Paul Borg. I worked as a fulltime journalist, writer and photographer for 27 years. I lived in six countries in Europe and Asia, and spent more than six months in six more, and my work has been published all over the world, including in large publications in the US and UK, and newspapers of various countries.
I have also been involved in TV documentaries, and for several years did reportage for the British Royal Geographical Society in assignments at the natural and human frontiers, mostly in Asia.
For about 4 years starting in 2017 I reported for Maltese newspapers, and then started this website to be able to publish the material that Maltese newspapers would not pay for – in-depth journalistic investigation, well-researched and in-depth analysis, and articles that are extensively illustrated. The idea was to make money from donations. Readership was encouragingly strong, the articles made an impact, but the effort was not sustainable for two main reasons – income from donations was not enough, and I ended up working long hours and getting by on little sleep and in the process damaging my health.
Now I have reoriented this website to make it a platform more in keeping with its name, JournalismPlus – going beyond core journalism, focusing on topics that are relevant to communities (Malta mainly), and that seek to reveal, resonate, and rally. This is different from blogging, you will not read my thoughts about any subject under the sun: all content will still adhere to the rigours of journalistic research, or at least personal experiences and observations given a grounding by solid research and adherence to the principles of fair reporting.
I am not reinventing anything: this is the evolution of communities-based journalism, which is the fastest-growing branch of journalism. Many newspapers are struggling because they report on news that is readily available from a variety of online sources, including social media, so their relevance to readers as well as advertisers is dimming. They are no longer the source of news, just one of a cacophony or multitude of sources.
I have written about this evolution and these trends – this is not something limited to Malta.
I hope you find something useful, rousing or inspiring in the pages of this website. And if you do, then remember this – make a donation, no matter how small, it will make a difference on whether this website shall endure or not.