School of Journalism and Communication
The forum for the future of local news and civic health
This report represents one step toward assessing the state of local news in Oregon and what can be done to strengthen it. Counting and mapping Oregon’s local news producers will track further changes. And by looking at initiatives underway around the country, Oregon’s newsrooms, educators, funders, and policy-makers can consider emerging innovations to build the vitality of Oregon’s local news that mean communities’ information needs.
At a time when journalists are grappling with eroding trust in media and finding new ways to build connections with the communities they serve, we offer a concrete way of talking about and documenting relational engagement.
This report examines how newsrooms across the country are pursuing deeper audience engagement using the tools and methods provided by the company Hearken. Our goal is to examine how newsrooms are taking up the challenge to involve the public at every stage of the news production process.