How a year-long partnership at WUSF led to deep connections with farmworkers in Tampa.

Adela José, a farmworker in Wimauma's tomato and blueberry fields, who Meszaros spoke to for her series on climate change, | Photo by Jessica Meszaros, WUSF Public Media

In 2021, reporter Jessica Meszaros started collaborating with a local group to get the voices of farmworkers on how climate change is affecting them. Meszaros spent almost a year building relationships, recording interviews and getting an excellent translator to help her produce stories in both English and Spanish. The project culminated recently in audio postcards that included the farmworkers' voices en Espanol without covering the Spanish with translation. She told us about how the project evolved and how they brought the work back to the community.

Tell us who you are, and share a brief summary of the reporting project?

I’m Jessica Meszaros, afternoon host and climate change/environment reporter at WUSF, the NPR station for the greater Tampa Bay region. I noticed that a lot of climate change coverage is centered around science and experts, which is essential, but lacking in “sense of place” and everyday people’s voices. So, last February, we started asking Floridians to share their climate change stories by filling out an online questionnaire: How has it affected your health or home? Have you witnessed impacts to wildlife or flooding in your area? We discussed the form on-air, highlighted it on our website, spread the link through social media, and sent it to organizations focused on climate change and/or underserved communities. 

How did community engagement inform your reporting? 

An advocate working as part of the Tampa Bay Climate Alliance responded to the questionnaire, which led to a conversation between us about a project the group was completing documenting local farmworkers’ stories. I asked to join them on their next outing. Shortly after, a “town hall” of sorts was assembled in the park of a migrant housing complex in Wimauma with about six people. I got to listen to their conversation. Then I interviewed two farmworkers and an advocate who was mediating the talk. That’s where I learned that climate change is drying out the land, leading to less work in the fields. And the heat, plus lack of water intake while working, is affecting the farmworkers’ health. 

How did you build trust in the community you were reporting on?

I was introduced to the farmworkers by people they already trusted. I also did not push anyone to speak on the record if they were not comfortable during or after the small town hall. Those who chose to talk on the record, I let them know their stories would help people understand what they go through everyday and possibly make change.

How are you bringing this reporting back to the community?

I brought this reporting back to the community by making sure to keep all the Spanish audible within the audio diary, rather than quickly fading it down to top with the English translation. I played complete 15 to 30-second Spanish sound bites, followed by their English translations. It’s important to let Spanish speakers speak for themselves, especially in an audio diary like this that’s so personal. Also, a Spanish version of the web story was created so that people, like the ones I interviewed, would have access to this information. It affects them the most, so they are the most important audience members. 

What lessons do you take away from this project in terms of strengthening your engagement?

Number one: access to information is important. Don’t just use sources, like Spanish speakers, for clicks, catering to one particular kind of audience, like English speakers. If the goal of the story is to have an impact and make change, question what needs to happen in order to do that. 

Number two: there are people dedicating their lives to help others, focusing on various issues. They are vital resources for journalists to connect with community members. 

Number three: keep asking people to share their personal stories. That’s where the heart of journalism lies.