Building trust by participating in a community event
Jenna Dooley contributed to this reporting.
Objective: WNIJ, Northern Illinois Public Radio, is located on the campus of Northern Illinois University about one hour west of Chicago. The station wants to weave in more engagement as they embark on their coverage of the 2024 elections. Their mission for coverage in the year ahead is to be "More Than Election Night," meaning they want to deliver more comprehensive coverage than simply election night results. This requires intentional strategies to meet the community in spaces ripe for interaction and to listen in ways that build trust and fill blind spots.
The Challenge: The station has had a long-standing goal to reach Spanish-speaking audiences. In 2023 they launched wnij.org/hola, a new digital community geared toward Spanish speakers of all levels in northern Illinois. Even with this project off and running, they are continuously looking to find ways to better connect with and engage the Spanish-speaking audience. Attending this community event turned out to be a wonderful way to introduce themselves to the community and to learn more about their news consumption and information needs with regards to upcoming elections.
Project Summary:
Report for America reporter Maria Gardner Lara took note of a family-friendly Day of the Dead community event in Rockford, Illinois that was open to families and organizations to construct ofrendas to remember and honor lives of the departed. It started with a brainstorming meeting where station staff asked, "Wouldn't it be impactful if our newsroom contributed an altar dedicated to remembering reporters around the world?" From there, to ensure their contribution aligned with the mission of the traditional celebration and the organizers of the event, they discussed the idea with community organizers. Once they had those conversations, they felt that their newsroom did have a role in letting the community know how much the lives of fellow journalists mean to them and that they were comfortable sharing this in a public way to start a conversation.
Hundreds of people and families strolled through the large convention space. Across from the WNIJ ofendra, they had a table with station signage and survey postcards in English and Spanish. Maria would enter into conversation with the parents in a very open and welcoming way to ask about what gaps they feel there are in coverage about voting, where they get their news, etc. and then the kids would color while they were waiting. The survey postcards provided by America Amplified had simple questions asking where people got their news and what was missing in local election coverage. Visitors filled out these forms and the station collected them to get information from voices they rarely hear from and can be difficult to reach using other strategies.
The Solution:
America Amplified has helped center WNIJ’s election approach with engagement-- not as a luxury, but as a necessity for stronger coverage. The election prompts from America Amplified are worded in a way that is easily accessible, bilingual and useful as the station begins to plan the year ahead. The questions include: "What issues are most important to you, where do you get your election news and information, and how do you think reporters can cover elections better?" Nearly all of the people who were asked questions felt comfortable answering them. The feedback was incredibly useful.
Credit to reporter Maria Gardner Lara who has been building relationships over the past two years in the community. The station knows there are many people who want more information to make informed election decisions, but aren't sure where to find it locally. This event wasn't about putting a microphone in front of anyone and gathering soundbytes. Instead it was about coming back to the newsroom with a better sense of where people are currently getting their news, what issues are important in their everyday lives, and how they think reporters can cover elections better. To frame it as a conversation, instead of an interrogation. The ofrenda was a way to align with the mission of the event while showing that reporters are humans with families and loved ones and their loss is felt deeply.
Takeaways:
In 2024, WNIJ plans to be “More Than Election Night.” Throughout the coming year, they are focusing on asking voters what issues are the most important to them.
They tested that intention out recently during a large community event in Rockford that featured families from across the region. No microphones. Just a conversation.
Here's a few things they learned by putting listening first in their approach:
Election dates and deadlines can be overwhelming to keep track of.
People care about election security and integrity.
People are tired of horse race political coverage and a media focused on candidate personalities instead of issues.
When school buses aren't running, it's an issue that affects families deeply.
People want to hear more about immigration, the economy and inflation, equality, sustainability, property taxes, and what's being done about violence.
People want more transparency in reporting.
Their biggest takeaway is to not shy away from becoming involved in these kinds of community events. Just showing up can yield unexpectedly rich results.