Preparing to Engage: Reporters and Producers

First, identify where YOU are coming from.

A community engagement approach to journalism requires that you first take a critical dive into your current work, personal biases and coverage decisions.

Set specific goals for diversity in your coverage.

Make sure diversity — race, class, gender, sexual orientation, etc. — is prioritized in all coverage, not just in stories about issues related to that group.

Compare the diversity in your coverage with the demographic makeup of your coverage area.

Hone in on a community for engagement

A source audit will reveal who you are NOT talking to. Use that as a starting point for your coverage moving forward. Are there communities overlooked by your station, or maybe by local media at large? Do your marketing or development teams have ideas on specific communities they would like to reach?

Here are some tips on how to do a deep dive to get to know a new community better:

Analyze demographic trends.

The American Community Survey and the U.S. Census Quick Facts tool can help you learn even more about the demographics of your community, including population change over time, household income, race and ethnicity. Is there a population or neighborhood that is underrepresented in your current coverage? Choose and define the geographic area of that community.

Identify civic institutions and local leadership.

What are the for-profit and non-profit institutions in your community, and how well do they work together? Who are the community leaders? Look for groups with whom you could partner to gain access to a new community and who could benefit from a partnership with your news organization. Who are the influencers that the community follows?

Join local Facebook or Nextdoor Groups.

Find out what people are discussing and what issues are of concern.

Analyze political, social and economic trends.

Look at historical voting patterns of counties to see over time how voters have shifted (or not) for political parties.

Identify the main sources of news for your community.

Different communities get their news in different ways. Many immigrant communities rely on WhatsApp; younger communities go to TikTok or Instagram; older, rural communities belong to Facebook groups.

Check out Google trends.

Find out what information people in your community are looking for. Look for questions they are asking. Try platforms such as Answer the Public.

Identify language and technology barriers.

What are the dominant languages in your community? Are there certain groups for whom English is not the dominant language who are underrepresented in coverage? Is the community you are trying to serve experiencing connectivity issues? Does your community have access to most popular technologies, software and platforms?

Meet people where they are

Connect with community fixers, influencers, or leaders.

A community influencer is someone outside of government institutions who is identifying and addressing community issues and problems.

A few examples:

Finance: People in a community who provide traditional and non-traditional access to startup money.
Faith leaders: Pastors, priests, etc. who are trusted community builders within their congregation.
Youth: School administrators, teachers, local sports league organizers, after school or summer programs, etc. are all safe access points to building partnerships that involve youth programming.
Food: Organizers of festivals and farmers’ markets, or owners of local restaurant groups hold influence and can be great partners for live event space or catering. Think also of food banks and kitchen soups.
Farm: Coop extension agents know everyone in rural communities, as well as farm bureaus and 4H or FFA leadership.
Volunteers: There are also volunteer organizations that support cleaning efforts, drive donations and organize events to help people in need in your communities.

Identify a community group to partner with.

This could be a neighborhood association or faith organization, a non-profit that works with a specific group within a community. Look for community groups that share your mission of public service, and avoid partnering with organizations with a political agenda. Co-convene a community conversation with this group.

Dig into local social media.

Look at Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist to see what people are buying and selling in your area. Join Facebook Groups of communities you’d like to cover or find the Nextdoor community page.

Try digital and live callouts to invite questions.

Use Google forms, Hearken, email, voicemail, social media, or texting platforms to invite people to send you questions. Ask questions of your followers, crowdsource, DM people you want to talk to, join Facebook Groups. If there’s an information app popular in a community you’re covering, join it. Ask your developers’ team to include entry points to those tools at the end of every article in your website, pin a post on your social media accounts and remind your audience during your newscasts how to submit their questions.

Go old school with snail mail.

Use physical mail or flyers posted in popular community areas. These can be very effective, especially if you include a photo of yourself (the reporter), your contact info and communicate that you want to learn about the community.

Create a survey.

You want to learn more about this community, where they get their news, what is important to them. Design a survey and ask your digital team if they can make a station URL redirect to your version of the survey — or if that’s not an option, try making a custom bit.ly link — and include the link in your direct mail/flyers, on-air promos, social media posts. If you need a little guidance, use our survey template. Periodically share the link to the survey on your website and social media accounts.

Do a pop-up newsroom.

Put up a tent and a table at a local farmer’s market or festival. Set up at the public library one day a month. Think of one question you would like people to answer. Design a sign or poster for people to see and get interested in it from a distance. Have a spreadsheet where you can register people’s personal information and/or ask them if they want to provide their emails to get back to them or register for your newsletter or other products your newsroom might have.

Additional Resources

Read our guidance on joining Facebook Groups from the America Amplified newsletter.
See Trusting News’ tips about how to use mailers and flyers to reach new audiences.
Read about how surveys allow you to reach beyond your current audience from our the America Amplified blog.
Read more about how metrics surveys can help you better understand serve your community from Metrics for News.
Watch our webinar on how we reached Latin/a/o/x Communities from America Amplified.

Quick Tip: Choosing a Community Partner

When you are looking to partner with a community group, you’re looking for a partnership that brings mutual benefits; in other words, an equitable partnership. Approach the partnership with the understanding that it will be one in which both partners will learn from each other and teach each other.

In San Diego, for example, KPBS partnered with a health clinic called San Ysidro Health to provide election information in Spanish to their patients. The station wanted to reach more Spanish-speaking communities, and the clinic had identified voting as a key component in community health. They helped each other.

A few key questions to ask:

How does this partnership serve our mission?
Do they share our mission of public service?
What service can we provide this partner?
What does the group bring to the table in terms of funding, expertise, authenticity, or connections?
How are they funded?
Are we aligned in terms of goals and expectations of this partnership?
What’s their track record in the community?
What’s their reputation in the community?
Do they have a reputation for political advocacy?
Who have they partnered with in the past? How did that go?

Acknowledge your blindspots and be respectful

Cultural competency is a learning process.

Be humble and remain open to learning and adapting your behavior. Acknowledge that you’re not the expert, and that you’re interested in learning from the community. For example: I am new here, and I want to make sure I’m being respectful. Please don’t hesitate to stop me if I’m overstepping, or if there’s something I need to do or say differently.

Consider the identities where experiences differ:

Gender

For some communities, it may not be customary to have private conversations one-on-one with someone of a different gender.

Politics

Polarization is significant, even the way we talk about “discussion” is different. Trust that most people have their positions because they care about something, their family, their future, etc. As in all source interactions, practice empathy.

Race

Race is a powerful identity fault line. Be aware of systemic inequity and histories of oppression. Know the role the media has played in perpetuating and exacerbating painful stereotypes, injustice and oppression, especially if there are specific examples in the community/-ies you’ll be engaging with. (News flash: there are!)

Generation

Some cultures put a high value on generational differences.

Language

It’s easiest for people to communicate in their first language. If you don’t speak the language, consider bringing along a colleague who does, or finding a community member who is willing to translate. Also, consider investing in learning a new language, and asking your news manager for support.

Body language

Be aware of your body language and clothes. In some communities, it’s a very sensitive topic. Also, keep in mind that other communities, such as Latino populations, are more prone to physical contact, like hugging people they meet for the first time.

Additional Resources