Yesterday Brain Pickings posted about News21, an organization exploring new forms of investigative journalism. Since 2006, they have sent teams of journalism students out to not only report on an issue, but to immerse themselves in the lives of the people they are reporting on. This year’s theme was war, so 10 young journalists were sent to live on a dude ranch in northeastern Washington state – an area with lots of veterans. What resulted is an informative series of beautifully produced vignettes on the lives of the people they met during their trip.

It’s interesting to consider this style of reporting versus the instant news we watch on TV. Rather than statistics and interviews with politicians, this series makes you feel a personal connection with those truly affected by war – which hits you a lot stronger. Check out the first video below and make sure you click here to watch the whole series.