More journalism startups are building their businesses around a community-first approach

Award-winning journalist, educator and former SOJC senior instructor, Lisa Heyamoto shares her insights on the intersection of media startups and community-centered journalism. As the director of Teaching & Learning at Local Independent Online News Publishers, she’s seeing that “the path to a successful news business isn’t simply about doing great journalism — it’s about meeting communities where they are, understanding their information and civic needs and providing clear utility and value.” In September, Lisa served as the guest curator on Gather, the platform led by the Agora Journalism Center to support community-minded journalists.


SOJC offers 5 community engagement tips for journalists

According to the tenets of civic engagement, those who live in a community are best qualified to identify its problems and most invested in finding solutions. To start regaining the public’s waning trust in the media and improve the relevance and accuracy of the news, journalists are beginning to ask community members what they should cover and how they should cover it.