Covering immigration under a new administration requires thoughtful engagement, detailed planning, and a commitment to ethical journalism. This tipsheet offers practical guidance for organizing engagement initiatives and reporting responsibly on immigration. Grounded in NPR’s latest editorial guidance and insights from experts, the document emphasizes protecting sources, safeguarding journalists, and maintaining editorial integrity.

From earning community trust to avoiding sensationalism and managing legal risks, these recommendations aim to help newsrooms navigate the complexities of immigration coverage while fostering respectful interactions and informed and empathetic reporting.

How VPM News and other America Amplified partner stations boosted engagement numbers by answering questions on Reddit

There is ample evidence that community engagement does ultimately pay off. These insights come from working for more than five years in support of community engagement with dozens of public media newsrooms across the country.

Traditionally, public media journalists have kept their distance from the development and fundraising departments. Yet there is a case to be made that in this day and age, all journalists can and should work more closely with marketing departments because, fundamentally, their goals are the same: get the stories and information out to as broad an audience as possible.

More and more, young people are getting their news through platforms like TikTok and Instagram. How is a public media station to penetrate this audience’s feeds, particularly during election season? Our social media strategist Obi Okezie lays out his tips for keeping things simple but meaningful when expanding to a new platform. 

Factchequeado fact-checks items that are re-traceable and have impact on public debate and decision making. They also debunk viral content, which is often user-generated content where authors are not as easily identifiable.

Whether you’re pulling a heist or doing engagement-fueled journalism, there’s nothing more important than getting the right people on your team.

Engagement journalism usually doesn’t start because of a mandate from the top leadership of a news organization — it’s a bit more “grassroots” than that. Rest assured, buy-in from leadership is possible and DOES happen! Here are some tried and true strategies for securing management buy-in.