10 lessons learned from our stations serving Black communities
This story was written by Mona Dougani and Elvis Menayese from WFAE, Nellie Beckett and Maya Miller from Gulf States Newsroom, and María Arce from America Amplified.
Credit: Flashvector via iStock.com.
Many Black communities have justifiable skepticism toward media due to historical misrepresentation. Many believe that Black people are covered more negatively than people in other racial and ethnic groups. Media outlets often overemphasize crime, violence, struggle, and trauma, presenting news coverage that is incomplete, biased and, in some cases, even inaccurate.
At America Amplified, several stations have been working to highlight stories of joy, resilience, and success within Black communities. Two of these stations, WFAE in Charlotte, North Carolina and Gulf States Newsroom, based in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana, helped us create this tipsheet based on their experiences and lessons learned.
Build a team that reflects the Black communities you aim to serve. Hire Black journalists and reporters to lead engagement journalism initiatives. If you want them to succeed, ensure they have decision-making power in the editorial process, not just participation. From deciding which communities to go into, determining how much time to dedicate to engagement to deciding storytelling format, ensure the engagement team feels supported and empowered. If you don’t have the appropriate staff, consult with people from the community to ensure accurate reporting and cultural competency.
Humbly educate yourself to understand the historical challenges and strengths of the community. Do research on what stories have been told and learn from previous coverage.
Analyze the current narrative and shift it following community advice. Ask Black communities what stereotypes they would like to change, what narratives they don’t feel comfortable about, or have been historically overlooked. Ask questions such as: Is there anything about how the media portrays you or people that feels inaccurate? What’s the one thing you want people to understand about your community? Check more questions from Solutions Journalism.
Immerse yourself in the community. Listening and building trust before reporting is essential to engage with Black communities. Keep in mind that most Black people never met a journalist in their communities or knew any journalists who worked in their communities. Don’t make assumptions. Always approach people with positive intent. Be respectful of people’s space and time. Remember, you are the one entering their community. Let others drive the conversation; listen and ask to understand, not to drive someone else’s narrative. Identify people the way they identify themselves and remember that Black communities are not monolithic.
Organize initiatives to serve the communities. Plan events and sessions around community traditions. Lean on music, arts, and food. Bring people together around these universal ways of expression to engage with them. Finding those common grounds will help everyone relate to your initiatives. Make the events a collaborative process as you do with reporting. When organizing events with a strong education or informative component, also provide something fun (like waxing!)
Leverage and build on community partnerships. Co-organize listening sessions and partner with Black-led organizations already doing community work. Lean into community leaders’ connections and make yourself visible to community partners.
Make the events a safe space for the community. Host inclusive and balanced community gatherings — review generation, race, gender, background, affiliation, location, etc., of people invited to the initiatives. Use the right platforms to invite and engage with them. Include a virtual option to attend to ensure broader participation. Curate the event environment to make people comfortable by providing services that reflect the community, such as a barber accustomed to working with afro hair or performers reflective of the Black community. Don’t forget to document the event to amplify it! Take the time to have a call with attendees and ask for their feedback on the event. Not everybody wants to fill out a survey. You can have a five-minute call and fill out the form for them.
Be there for the joy. Attend events organized by the community, such as festivals, fairs, markets, charitable events, or celebrations, and interact with its members. Go with an open mind and don't necessarily expect to come away with a story to tell. But try to publish it anyway! Many people in Black communities think media coverage is one-sided and incomplete.
Co-create stories with the Black communities. Avoid parachuting into and, instead, develop collaborative projects where community members have a key role in the production process. Offer community members training on journalism if possible. Go back to them and ask for their feedback. Ask where a story did or did not excel, how it can be improved next time, and how the coverage can be expanded in the future.
Create a Community Advisory Board to guide your reporting and better understand the Black communities’ needs. Listen to their feedback and implement their suggestions. Remember that they are part of a community you might not be. Holistically highlight the community.
Need more resources? Check these case studies, key findings and strategies.
How Black Americans engage with local news
Read these Pew Research Center findings, which are part of a broader study of Black Americans and news, found generally negative feelings toward news coverage of Black people.
Key findings for reaching Black Millennials and Gen Z with news
Did you know that Black Americans under 40 are more likely than their white peers to pay or donate to the news? Read this and other findings by the Media Insight Project.
Q&A: How can newsrooms better serve communities of color?
This story by Columbia Journalism Review focuses on how the American Press Institute's Inclusion index aims to analyze and enhance coverage of communities of color.
News Distrust Among Black Americans is a Fixable Problem
In this project, the Center for Media Engagement at the Univeristy of Texas at Austin asked Black Americans how news organizations could better cover their communities to help bridge the divide between them and the media.
Creating Trust and Engagement in Trenton’s Black Community via Civic Media
One of the Listening Post Collective members takes the time to share some insights he’s learned while building a news conversation with his community.
6 strategies for growing partnerships in the Black community from The Fayetteville Observer
Audience roundtables, mobile newsrooms and source audits to rebuild trust and engage with the Black community, whose achievements have often been ignored or downplayed by local news organizations.
More from our stations
Collaboration with Black-owned media in Tampa fueled WUSF’s Murrow award-winning series on Black mental health
The Tampa Bay station wanted to create a way for their primarily-white newsroom to work alongside Black journalists in the community to connect with members they didn't know before.
WITF’s Toward Racial Justice — Conversations to educate, engage and inspire change
Learn from this digital conversation series addressing systemic racism and injustice in Central Pennsylvania and beyond.
Looking to reach younger audiences? Take a cue from WFAE’s approach through barbershops and nail salons
The Charlotte station wanted to replicate that safe, intimate space of beauty shops as a venue to host a conversation about politics and the 2024 election. And they did it while people were waxing their eyebrows!