We can build more diverse and inclusive journalism if we engage directly with community members. This interactive session — part discussion, part workshop — will take participants through a design thinking exercise for moving at the “speed of inclusion.” We'll explore how to represent the full diversity of voices in our communities to make them more present in our reporting. You’ll walk away with an engagement plan for a project that puts community at the core of reporting and learn foundational skills — such as how to map stakeholders — for putting these lessons into action.

1. Community Engagement Models
for More Inclusive Journalism
5MINUTE
EXERCISE
WELCOME TO:
Laurenellen McCann
Josh Stearns
Jennifer Brandel
Get started now with a
@JENNIFERBRANDEL
@JCSTEARNS
@ELLE_MCCANN

2. Community Engagement Models
for More Inclusive Journalism

3. Jennifer Brandel Laurenellen McCann Josh Stearns
HELLO!
@JENNIFERBRANDEL @JCSTEARNS@ELLE_MCCANN

4. What’s happening
+ HANDS-ON WORKSHOP!
+ DISCUSSION
+ QUICK TALK

5. 3 Ways of Thinking About Participation
and Inclusion
5
THE LEVELS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE HOW OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE WHEN OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
(plus a gazillion inspiring examples)

6. GRDodge.org & LocalNewsLab.org
@jcstearns & @grdodgemedia
Creative experiments in journalism sustainability
and community engagement

7. LEVEL 1:
COMMUNITY
OUTREACH
• Sharing ourselves, our
expertise and our content.
• Taking the content to the
audience, rather than hoping
they'll find us.
• Being willing to participate in
the community as individuals.
BASED ON @MAYERJOY’S RJI FELLOWSHIP

8. LEVEL 2:
CONVERSATION
• Listening as well as talking.
• Hosting discussions in person and
online.
• Participating in conversations
we're not hosting.
• Recognizing that journalism is a
process, not just a product, and
involving more voices in the
process means more diverse
journalism.
BASED ON @MAYERJOY’S RJI FELLOWSHIP

9. LEVEL 3:
COLLABORATION
•Shared investment in and influence
over our journalism.
•Soliciting and relying on user
contributions.
•Allowing community to shape what we
cover and how we allocate our
resources.
•Accomplishing things with the
community that we could not do alone.
BASED ON @MAYERJOY’S RJI FELLOWSHIP

10. THE LEVELS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE HOW OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE WHEN OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

12. YOU
MEET PEOPLE WHERE
THEY ARE … LITERALLY

13. 1. ...socially (Utilize Existing Social Infrastructure)
2. ...technically (Utilize Existing Tech Skills and Infrastructure)
3. ...physically (Lead from Shared Spaces)
4. ...on equal terms (Distribute Power)
5. ...and decide where you’re going together
(Create Two-Way Educational Environments)
MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE...
ADAPTED FROM THE 5 MODES OF CIVIC ENGAGEMENT IN CIVIC TECH
BIT.LY/CIVICMODES

14. The communities you’d like to engage already exist.
Make your strategic decisions with this knowledge.
Don’t ask “How can we build X community?”
Ask: “How can we get more involved with X community?
How can we build a relationship with X community?”
MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE …
SOCIALLY
HOT TIPS
PARTNER WITH HYPERLOCAL GROUPS
WITH INTERSECTING INTERESTS.
INVEST IN ORGANIZING CAPACITY.

15. MEET PEOPLE WHERE THEY ARE …
TECHNICALLY
Technology is more than software, apps, computers.
It defines a huge range of tools, from knitting needles to space ships.
Choose the tools you use and build for engagement not by what seems
popular to tinker with, but by what is most relevant to your communities’
skills, interests, and needs.
HOT TIPS
BUILD FOR BEST FIT,
NOT LATEST FAD.
REMIX, DON’T REINVENT.

16. If it works for design:
WHO is your audience?
WHO makes up your community? … And who doesn’t?
Be brave enough to name specific groups,
organizations, and demographics.
KNOW WHO YOU’RE MEETING

17. BUILD WITH,
NOT FOR

18. THE WHEN OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE LEVELS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
THE HOW OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

19. Traditional journalism
story cycle
PRESS
INITIATEDREACTIVE
COMMENTS
CALL-INS

20. Participation: let audience be dynamic
“Citizens were often
quoted in stories, but
within narrow
limitations … mostly as
a witness or bystander
to an event.”
PEW STUDY: LOCAL NEWS IN A DIGITAL AGE

21. Public-powered
story cycle
PUBLIC
POWERED
VOTE ON
FAVORITES
ASK
QUESTIONS
SHAPE STORY +
ACCOMPANY
REPORTERS

23. Why are Latinos
concentrated in the
Pilsen and Little Village
neighborhoods?
When did it happen?
—CM! Winters-Palacio
Are there actually tunnels
Al Capone used
underneath Chicago, and
if so — where are they and
to where do they lead?
—Katie Conrad
What’s the origin
of the Chicago accent?
—Sarahlynn Pablo
What happens to
your poop after
you flush?
—Satchel Lang
Great questions become great stories

24. Knowing people as
individuals and community —
no longer as a mass —
will allow us to build better
services and new forms of news.
— JEFF JARVIS, “IMAGINING NEW FUTURES FOR NEWS”

25. STORIES MADE FROM
PUBLIC CURIOSITY
PERFORM
SIGNIFICANTLY
BETTER
THAN TYPICAL NEWS STORIES

26. Checklist for collaboration
How are you creating
opportunities for
participation?
How and how often are
you letting them know
they can participate?
What rewards are you
offering for participating?
Would you act on those
rewards?
How are you thanking
and acknowledging their
participation?
How does their
participation actually
influence the work you do?
Where can they see their
participation mattering /
influencing the work you do?

27. More participation = more impact

28. WORKSHOP
O’CLOCK
45 MIN

29. LOOK UNDER YOUR CHAIR

30. ORGANIZE INTO GROUPS OF 4-5
EACH GROUP MUST HAVE 1
COMMUNITY MEMBER (ONLY 1)

31. Community member interview
How do you spend your days?
Why are you curious about _______? What’s
the backstory?
What would a satisfying answer include?
In what way would you be most likely to consume the story
made from your curiosity? (newspaper article, podcast, etc.)
What’s your name? Who are you? Where do you live?
Break into groups of 3-5. Your group must include 1 community member role (they have a sticky note under their chair!)
Community member: Now is your time to shine! The group will interview you to learn what you’re curious about so they
can create a story that satisfies you. You can use one of the curiosities you collected in the opening workshop exercise
or use another curiosity. You don’t have to play yourself. Feel free to create a person / persona.
Rest of Group: Interview the community member to better understand who they are, what information they want to know and why.
Someone take notes below (you’ll want to reference them later). Here are some starter questions. Feel free to ask more!
What are the main ways you consume news?
MY NAME IS __________________________________________.
I’M ___________________________________________________
______________________________________________________.
I’D LIKE TO SEE A STORY ABOUT ________________________
__________________________ BECAUSE ___________________
_______________________________________________________
_________________________. I TEND TO FIND NEWS AND
INFORMATION BY _____________________________________
_______________________________________________________.
Finally, fill in the blanks.

32. What’s the story and how will you create it?
What’s the story about? What question(s) will it answer?
What audience are you creating it for? Whom do you want it to reach?
What media will tell the story best? (video, text, infographic, event, podcast, etc.)
How are you going to report it? Who (or what kinds) of people will you be interviewing?

33. Checklist for participation
How are you creating opportunities
for participation?
How and how often are you letting your
community know they can participate?
What rewards are you offering for
participating? Would you act on those
rewards?
How are you thanking and acknowledging
people for their participation?
How does community participation actually
influence the work you do?
Where can community members see their
participation mattering / influencing the work?

34. What roles are needed to accomplish this story?
BAKER
SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER
RADIO PRODUCER
VIDEO PRODUCER
EDITOR
REPORTER
MIME
ACTRESS
ILLUSTRATOR
DATA SCIENTIST
DESIGNER
SIGN-SPINNER
MIDDLE-SCHOOLER
TV REPORTER
INTERPRETIVE DANCER
ARTIST
LINGUIST
CITY OFFICIAL
FRONTEND DEVELOPER
RANDOM STRANGER
DATA VISUALIZER
HISTORIAN
ANTHROPOLOGIST
COPY-EDITOR
BUDDY
THERAPY DOG
PEER REVIEWER
FACT CHECKER
AUDIO ENGINEER
ENGAGEMENT EDITOR
CHILD (WITH A SIGNED RELEASE)
ANIMATOR
INTERN
DATA CRUNCHER
COMMUNITY GARDENERS
HOST
PROJECT MANAGER
HR DIRECTOR
SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER
FULL STACK DEVELOPER
OTHER:
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
____________________
Circle all that apply and think of some new ones, if you don’t see them here!

35. BRING IT IN
(LET’S TALK)

36. Continuous,
fresh ideas
Compelling
characters
Higher-performing
stories
Rewards to inclusivity: Newsroom
New editorial
possibilities
Deeper
understanding
of audience
Differentiated
content
Authentic,
targeted marketing Lead generation
EDITORIAL
BUSINESS

37. Being heard! Social capital Thrill of meeting
reporters, participating
Direct influence
on news
Access to
people / places
News literacy,
appreciation
Rewards: Audience

38. Participation is important
community dopamine loyaltyengagement

39. Maintaining a base of engaged,
loyal readers — not just fickle
drive-by traffic, is a matter of
business survival.
—JAKE BATSELL, AUTHOR OF “ENGAGED JOURNALISM”

40. EVEN
MORE
DELIGHTS
Betsy O’Donovan
AIR / @ODiter

41. Community as experts

42. Community as experts

43. Community as creators

44. Story collection / dissemination IRL
The Listening Post
Talkbox

45. Everyone has a story about
where they were on 9/11.
Newsroom as community connectors

46. Individual as a surrogate

47. Community experiments

48. Spreading the skills / power

49. Whatever you think your
audience is capable of …
YOU ARE
RIGHT
CHECK YOUR BIAS