Everything we believe about the world, about others, and even about ourselves is a story — a narrative shaped by the cultures that surround us. These narratives are not fixed. They can and do change. But changing them requires more than facts alone — it demands functioning alternatives, critical thinking, and the courage to examine both the systems around us and the unresolved histories within us.
Changing the Narrative (CTN) is a media organisation that challenges prevailing narratives through podcasts, articles, photo stories, and documentary films. It exists for people who are curious about how our societies, cultures and systems work — and who suspect that much of what we're being told doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
CTN's work is guided by three core convictions: that there are solutions where we're told there are none, that community matters in a culture that rewards individualism, and that activism is possible where we're encouraged to feel helpless.
What We Do
CTN produces original content that reframes rather than simply debunks — showcasing how alternative models work rather than only criticising conventional ones. We explore themes including alternative business models, documentary ethics, systems thinking, lived experience, and the hidden impacts of the systems we take for granted.
We also organise live events, including interviews and discussions, to foster the kind of open, critical conversation that meaningful narrative change depends on.
Our Labels
How (Not) to Do Business (Coming Soon!)
A podcast series exploring unconventional, more egalitarian and sustainable approaches to business. We speak with worker cooperatives, employee-owned companies, social enterprises, and other organisations that are succeeding by breaking the conventional rules — demonstrating that there is an alternative to business as usual, and examining the structural barriers that keep these alternatives hidden.
Stories From Within (Coming Soon!)
A platform for documentary storytelling by community insiders, not outside observers. Stories From Within showcases the work of storytellers who document communities of which they are genuinely a part — where they would be recognised as a member by other members. Through podcasts, exhibitions, publications, and eventually a dedicated platform, SFW counters parachute journalism with authentic local voices and raises awareness of the experiences of communities that are too often represented by outsiders.
Archive
CTN builds on the foundations of three earlier projects, now archived under the CTN umbrella:
Documentary Storytellers explored the ethics and practice of documentary storytelling — how stories are told, who tells them, and the responsibilities that come with representing others. Its articles and podcasts on lived experience, local storytelling, and the power dynamics of documentary work laid the groundwork for what became Stories From Within.
Food Is Wasted investigated the food system — from food waste and sustainable agriculture to food sovereignty — challenging the dominant narratives around how we produce, distribute, and consume food.
Documenting Climate Change examined climate and environmental issues through podcasts and articles, digging into systemic questions around agriculture, biodiversity, carbon capture, and the gap between simple narratives and complex realities.
These projects represent the journey that led to CTN. Their content remains available as part of our archive.
Our Approach
CTN creates content to change minds, not to preach to the converted. We prioritise persuasion over advocacy — meeting people where they are and building the case for alternatives through evidence, storytelling, and the lived experience of those who are already doing things differently.
We believe that harmful narratives are sustained by two reinforcing forces: external systems of power that benefit from them, and internal patterns — including unprocessed individual and collective trauma — that make us unconsciously cling to them. Addressing only one while ignoring the other is insufficient for meaningful change. This understanding shapes everything we produce.
Our Values
CTN operates according to cooperative principles. We prioritise creator autonomy, data ownership, and ethical business practices. Our infrastructure is self-hosted and built on open-source tools, because we believe the values you espouse should be reflected in how you operate — not just what you publish.
We don't use extractive platforms where we can avoid them. We don't collect data we don't need. And we don't accept that the way things are is the way they have to be.
CTN is founded and run by Chris King, a documentary storyteller and journalist from the north of Ireland, but currently based in Perpignan, France.