With a population that skews older and a patchwork of information channels—ranging from Facebook groups to library bulletin boards—Florence faces the challenge of keeping residents informed without a single, consistent hub. The project, conducted by University of Oregon students, included a co-designed survey with 106 responses, a well-attended listening session, and weekly planning meetings with community partners.
Topic: Engaged Journalism
Community Perspectives on Oakridge’s Information Ecosystem (2025)
The closure of the Dead Mountain Echo in 2020 and limited capacity of the Highway 58 Herald have left Oakridge relying heavily on Facebook, word of mouth, and bulletin boards. While residents expressed deep pride in their community, they voiced frustration over fragmented, biased, or outdated information.
Engaged Journalism: Listening to Salem’s Hispanic Community
Guided by the Listening Post Collective’s Playbook, the team conducted a bilingual survey, held a listening session with 80 students, and visited community gathering spaces. The assessment revealed that while residents—especially youth—are highly connected through personal networks, social media, and local Spanish-language radio, there remain gaps in access to trusted, timely, and bilingual civic information.
Engaging Emergence: Advancing the Future of Journalism for All
Engaging Emergence (EE3) convened 120 journalists, community organizers, educators, researchers, and others interested in transforming journalism to be more inclusive, community-powered, and relevant to all.
Engaging the Emergence of Civic Media Ecosystems
As a precursor to the Online News Association’s national conference in Philadelphia, 120 community-driven innovators assembled at Temple University to address this question: “How do we advance journalism for all?”
Community Perspectives on Rogue Valley’s Information Ecosystem (2023)
The study revealed a community deeply interested in local events, politics, and safety, yet hampered by a fragmented and uneven information landscape. The closure of the Medford Mail Tribune in 2023 left a significant gap, prompting the emergence of new outlets like the Rogue Valley Times and the expansion of existing media.
Community Perspectives on Hermiston’s Information Ecosystem (2022)
Through surveys, site visits, and facilitated conversations, students explored how residents get and share local news, what sources they trust, and where information gaps exist. Overall, residents rated themselves as fairly well informed. Facebook—especially the “What’s Happening in Hermiston” and “NEW What’s Happening in Hermiston” groups—was the most frequently used source for local updates, though trust in it was mixed.
University of Oregon students test a new framework for dialogue-driven reporting
17 students in DeVigal’s engaged journalism class used the Generative Dialogue Framework (GDF) to host small-group conversations with folks across the U.S., asking them about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and their perspectives on the new vaccine.
University of Oregon promotes survey to understand how people get their news
Where do you go to learn of news? What type of information is most important to you? How informed do you feel about things happening in your community? All of these questions, and more, are on the survey, which is
Gather supports community-centered journalists
This Agora-led initiative helps to make journalism more responsive to the public’s needs and more inclusive of the public’s voices and diversity