Date: 01/16/2020
In 2018, New Jersey created the Civic Information Consortium, a first-of-its-kind nonprofit with the mission of strengthening local-news coverage and boosting civic engagement in communities across the state. Free Press Action conceived of the Civic Info Bill, which created the consortium and is now serving as a model for other states that are seeking to give people the news and information they need.
What are the biggest challenges specific to engagement work — both for internal communication on an engagement team and for communication with the rest of the organization? What about engagement work and about audience + community relationships and interactions most need to be communicated? What tools and strategies are helpful? Join Kim Bui and Emma Carew Grovum to find out.
Huge datasets that cover vital national issues are coming out of the federal government every day, and within them hide endless numbers of story leads for local journalists. With the proliferation of available data, it’s become common for newsrooms to have access to datasets that contain more story leads than they can meaningfully pursue themselves. Collaborative data journalism allows multiple newsrooms to find and tell those stories, increasing impactful stories told.
Grace Weber’s Music Lab, forged from collaboration between music artist Grace Weber and 88Nine Radio Milwaukee, is a free, monthly music and arts education program aimed at teaching high school students across Milwaukee, Wisconsin, about music and the entertainment industry.
Let’s talk about the pros and cons, and the when and why, to using crowdfunding for your media project with hosts Courtney Hurtt of WDET and Madeleine Poore of WAMU.
How do we make the case for investing in engagement? “Engagement” is an evolving set of practices within journalism, and its impact on attracting, developing, and satisfying audiences has yet to be fully and rigorously documented, particularly by the scholarly community. One entity that is making a strong case for the commercial, as well as the journalistic value of doing engagement work, is Hearken, whose landing page features in bold letters: “Does Hearken Work? Yes.”
University of Oregon’s Sustainable Cities Initiative (SCI) launched their Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) in La Pine, Oregon and partnered with other departments across campus including the SOJC’s engaged journalism class. They developed an engagement strategy to support the information health of La Pine.
Let’s have a chat on how to create change in newsrooms. Doing engagement work often involves getting colleagues (and bosses) to try new things — even to be *excited* about trying new things. Some newsrooms do that well. What do they have in common? Join the discussion with Kristen Hare of Poynter Institute, Julia Haslanger of Hearken, and Joy Mayer of Trusting News and Gather’s community manager.
NewsU: As a mediator among those who create, distribute and consume the news, the Newseum wants to help each group better understand the others. In this session, the Newseum’s Kristi Kenneth focuses on revealing what the organization has learned about the current media landscape through workshops with news consumers young and old world-wide. What issues cause the most confusion? Where does the public lay blame for problems like “fake” news? What skills do students and the general public need to develop, and what can journalists do to help bolster those skills?
In 2015, Free Press launched News Voices after recognizing that community members aren’t often included in the discussions around how communities get news or how journalists could better serve the communities they work in. The program started in New Jersey with World Cafe style listening forums where community members could share their concerns with journalists.
NewsU: Facebook Groups are an exciting way to build communities, especially on the local level. Facebook Groups remain an effective way to interact with audiences and share meaningful stories. But how do you start? What makes for a good Facebook group? What pitch can you make for resources? How can you involve your business side and journalists outside of the social media team in managing it? This webinar discusses best practices in starting a topical Facebook group, how to involve your newsroom and how to keep the conversation going.
In 2016, the University of Oregon student magazine FLUX hosted a community conversation on race and identity, inviting participants to help shape the student magazine’s spring issue. The event drew about 60 staff and community members, and spurred a lively conversation about racial issues.
