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. A reporter might have a passion for community-powered storytelling, or a news director may embrace engagement as the path to more inclusive news coverage. No matter what the starting point, it is likely that someone will have to convince a person in leadership that community engagement is worth the investment in time and resources. 

Ultimately, effective community engagement hinges on support from all levels within an organization, from senior leadership to interns. But how do you get station leaders — who set the tone, balancing bold choices with long-term strategy and sustainability — to buy into the idea? There are several ways you could approach it, and what works best will depend on the culture of your organization, your relationship with station leaders, and countless other factors. 

Overwhelmed? You don’t have to be scared! Buy-in is possible and DOES happen! Here are some tried and true strategies for securing management buy-in: 

First, find out what motivates station leadership and demonstrate how engagement can help meet those goals. Schedule a meeting with key station leaders and ask questions like:

• "What are the top priorities for our organization in the next year?"

• "How do you see community engagement contributing to our overall goals?"

• "What concerns do you have about implementing new programs?

Encourage leadership to ask critical questions about the station’s current strategies:

•  Are you meeting the community's information needs?

•  Are you expanding and attracting new audiences?

•  Can you identify new funders?

•  Is your news service capacity satisfactory?

Second, show management that there’s a method to your madness: explain the benefits of engagement journalism and how it helps the station reach the strategic goals (that you learned about in step one!):

• Authentic stories and improved connections with underserved audiences.

• Greater trust with new and current audiences

• More relevant and relatable stories/journalism

• Enhanced staff satisfaction and diversity.

• A strong message for members, funders, and underwriters that you are working to serve and gain new members. 

Third, pitch the idea effectively with a clear, realistic plan and resource assessment. Build and iterate with small engagement experiments to learn what works and doesn’t in your community. 

• Start Small: Launch a pilot program targeting a small segment of your audience.

• Measure Results: Track engagement metrics, feedback, and other KPIs.

• Report Successes: Share the initial results with leadership, highlighting positive outcomes and lessons learned.

• Iterate and Expand: Use feedback to refine the approach and gradually expand the program to a larger audience.

• Purpose: Demonstrating value through small, manageable experiments builds trust and makes it easier to gain incremental support for larger initiatives.

Finally, share some resources like the ones below about newsrooms that have tried engagement journalism and have found success.

• Greater Public wrote about how KERA’s fundraising was successful by marrying asking and listening.

• The American Press Institute shows how source tracking and transparency can bring in revenue

• Recent research from the Center for Media Engagement in Texas says responding to audience questions — i.e. the Hearken model — can increase trust and drive up membership!