u/EUobs

Hi everyone, Lucia here from EUobserver. We interviewed Ukrainian frontline reporter Diana Bucko about something I thought this community might find particularly interesting: what happens to war reporting when the war stops feeling “new” to the audience.

She’s been reporting from Ukraine’s frontline since 2022. She describes how the job has changed dramatically, from the stories journalists tell to the risks they're willing to take.

Drones have made the frontline considerably more dangerous. Many male journalists have joined the army or been mobilised, so frontline reporting is increasingly being done by women. And after four years, she says one of the hardest things is simply finding new ways to tell a story that audiences have already seen hundreds of times.

Meanwhile, the war hasn't become any less real for the people living it.

How do journalists deal with that gap between the importance of a story and declining audience attention?

Would be really interested to hear from you :)

Hi everyone, Lucia here from EUobserver. We’ve just published a story about the latest tensions between Morocco and Spain, and we’d genuinely like to hear the Moroccan perspective on it.

After the recent mass crossing into Ceuta, the relationship between the two countries is once again under pressure, not only over migration, but also over Ceuta and Melilla and Morocco’s increasingly strong relationship with the US.

Our story looks at whether that changing geopolitical position is giving Rabat more leverage in its relationship with Madrid and, more broadly, with the EU.

But I’m curious how this debate looks from Morocco itself.

Do you think relations with Spain are genuinely changing? And how do people in Morocco today see the issue of Ceuta and Melilla?

What are we missing?

This is an open thread for story ideas, tips, questions, suspicions, strange things you've noticed, documents you've come across, or EU subjects you simply don't understand and think someone should explain properly.

You don't need to pitch us a finished story. Half an idea is fine.

For example:

• Something happening in your country that Brussels seems completely unaware of
• An EU policy that looks very different in practice than it does on paper
• A company, lobby group, politician or institution you think deserves more scrutiny
• A law or regulation where you keep thinking: how did this happen?
• Data or documents that seem interesting but you don't know what they mean
• Something everyone in your industry knows, but nobody seems to write about
• A question about the EU you've tried Googling and still can't get a straight answer to
• A story you've seen reported locally that deserves a European audience
• Something EUobserver itself should be doing better or covering more

Our journalists will keep an eye on this thread and may ask follow-up questions.

Obviously, not every suggestion will become a story, and we probably won't be able to explain what we're working on before publication. But we're interested in seeing what happens when part of our editorial radar comes directly from people here.

One important thing: if your tip is sensitive, could identify you, involves confidential documents, or could get you into trouble, do not post it publicly here and don't send it through Reddit DMs.

Contact us securely at euobserver@proton.me instead.

Otherwise, have at it.

What should EUobserver investigate, explain or pay more attention to?

Hi everyone,

Lucia here from EUobserver, and as a Slovak, this one caught my attention personally.

We’ve just published an opinion that makes a pretty bold argument: despite all the problems we talk about in Central and Eastern Europe, this may actually be one of the best periods our region has ever experienced.

CEE countries are closer to Western Europe than ever in terms of income and quality of life. Estonia and Lithuania are now ranking among some of the most attractive countries to live in, and countries across the region have seen huge improvements since joining the EU.

But there’s a catch.

That rapid convergence may be coming to an end. Ageing populations, emigration, weaker universities, low R&D and investment could mean that some countries never fully catch up with Western Europe.

Being from the region myself, I’m really curious how people here feel about this.

Do you think life in Central/Eastern Europe is better than we sometimes give it credit for? And are we still catching up with the West — or has that process started to stall?

Hi everyone, Lucia here from EUobserver. With so much attention on Europe’s heatwaves and wildfires right now, we wanted to look at another part of the same story that’s much less visible: what’s happening in our oceans.

The world’s seas just recorded their hottest July on record, while western Europe has been experiencing exceptional heat, drought and fires.

And warmer oceans aren’t just another temperature record. Oceans absorb most of the excess heat in the climate system, and marine heatwaves can have huge consequences for ecosystems, biodiversity and the weather we experience on land.

What struck us while working on this story is how connected all of this is. We tend to talk about wildfires, drought, extreme heat and warming seas as separate events, when increasingly they’re part of the same bigger picture.

Do you think we still underestimate ocean warming compared with the climate impacts we can actually see and feel on land?