Listen and Get to Know Your Community
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I. Introduction (15m)
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III. Case Studies (50m)
- AL.com ("Tackling the Gap")
- Choteau Acantha ("The Montana Gap")
- The Christian Science Monitor
- Detroit Free Press ("Our Children: Searching for Solutions")
- KCPT
- Minneapolis Star Tribune ("Muslims and De-Radicalization: What Works?")
- The Seattle Times ("Education Lab")
- The Tennessean ("The Cost of Growth and Change"; "Civility Tennessee")
- Wyoming Public Media ("I Respectfully Disagree")
- Your Voice Ohio
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IV. Best Practices (35m)
- Listen and Get to Know Your Community
- Assess Your Presence and Reach
- Convene the Right People
- Find a Partner or Collaborator
- Cultivate the Right Space (Physically and Digitally)
- Experiment
- Engagement Resources
MEET YOUR COMMUNITY WHERE THEY ARE
In order to engage your audience, you first have to get to know them. If you already have a great community conversation platform on your site, start by listening there. If the community you’re targeting isn’t online, a series of community events might be better. It doesn’t look the same for every project. Look at the community that you report on, find out what people there are interested in, and think intentionally about who you want to engage and the best way to do it.
LISTEN IN MULTIPLE WAYS
It’s critical to understand what the community actually cares about; investing in that listening up front will yield more meaningful engagement later. In light of an upcoming transit referendum, David Plazas, Director of Engagement and Opinion of the Tennessean, rode the bus for an entire year to understand Nashville’s transit system and public opinions about it. He conducted research for six months before writing a single word for his series “Cost of Growth and Change,” listening to people talk and affirming that the cost of living and affordable housing were broadly relevant issues. Melodie Edwards read the local paper in Gilette, a community far from where she lives, to identify relevant hot-button issues before organizing her civil discourse event. The Detroit Free Press invested in intensive focus groups with parents and children before writing any stories in their solutions series on urban violence.
LEARN HOW YOUR COMMUNITY LIKES TO ENGAGE
Appreciating how people communicate with each other may provide insights into how you can best engage them. For example, The Minneapolis Star Tribune learned that Somalis have a strong tradition of oral storytelling, and to this day, many are in the habit of making phone calls to talk to someone about their problems. This gave the team insights into why stories posted on their website might not gain wide traction.