The America Amplified playbook, most recently updated in April of 2025, is a collection of strategies, resources, tools and lessons learned from newsrooms across the country that have embraced engagement journalism as the center of their reporting process.
Born from years of collaboration and the work of more than 60 partner stations, the initiative spanned six years, a global pandemic, racial justice movements, landmark Supreme Court decisions, and was bookended by two historic elections. This playbook has been designed for reporters, editors and senior leadership who aim to deepen trust, amplify underrepresented voices and reflect the variety of perspectives in their communities. Whether you’re getting started or refining a long-standing engagement strategy, we hope you’ll find inspiration and practical advice within it.
About America Amplified
Launched in 2019, America Amplified was a public media initiative designed to strengthen local public media stations through engagement journalism and to help newsrooms organize engagement efforts by giving them tools, training and the critical time needed to map an effective strategy for serving new and current audiences. We empowered journalists to center active listening and co-create coverage with communities, especially those traditionally underserved by public media. Funded through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, our work supported public media stations across the U.S. in reimagining how journalism can better reflect America, build trust and uphold the principles of democracy.
America Amplified began its journey with KCUR in Kansas City, Missouri, where it was managed for a two-year period from 2019 to 2021. Following this initial phase, WFYI Public Media in Indianapolis assumed responsibility for the initiative over four years from 2021 to 2025. The collaboration between the America Amplified team and WFYI Public Media significantly contributed to the program’s success. Two key highlights during this time included the in-person bootcamp held at WFYI, marking the first time America Amplified organized such an event, and the stewardship of significant partner station engagement resources ahead of the 2024 election, allowing stations across the country to invest in their community outreach efforts.
Acknowledgments
This playbook was made possible thanks to the contributions of the many reporters, editors, producers and station leaders committed to public service, engagement and accountability who shared their expertise and experiences. We extend our deepest gratitude to all those who helped experiment and document the approaches found within. As a team leading this initiative from proposal to practice, we will forever be grateful for this opportunity, which wouldn’t have been possible without generous support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting throughout the initiative and Knight Foundation for their backing of our in-person bootcamp. We also extend our heartfelt thanks to KCUR, WFYI Public Media, the America Amplified Board of Directors, and the people in the communities across the U.S. who we serve each day. Their efforts brought these pages to life.
The America Amplified playbook authors and contributors:
Ann Alquist
María Arce
Alisa Barba
Brittani Howell
Matthew Long-Middleton
Kathy Lu
Abbie McCafferty
Paola Marizán
Chelsea Naughton
Matt Rasnic
jesikah maria ross
Andrea Tudhope
Jennifer Tufts
Donna Vestal
