Community engagement at work around the country
Harvest Public Media
Voices Of A Changing Nebraska: ‘They Don't Understand Us’
“Voices of a Changing Nebraska” is an audio diary series about how five Nebraska residents are navigating their lives since a pandemic, presidential election and protests for racial and social justice.
Engagement strategy: Re-engaging with sources, using audio diaries to tell first-person stories
January 29, 2021
Nebraska’s 2nd District Voters Feel Tension Of An Electoral College Vote Up For Grabs
America Amplified reporter Megan Feeney talked to voters in a Nebraska district whose voters will determine the fate of one electoral college vote.
Engagement strategy: Meeting people in a community
October 29, 2020
You Texted Us Questions About Voting In The Kansas City Region, And We Have Answers
From evaluating judges to mail-in rules to working the polls, KCUR asked listeners what want to know about voting.
Engagement strategy: Using GroundSource, a texting platform, to identify community concerns
October 19, 2020
Three First-Time Candidates Illustrate How COVID Has Impacted Campaigning
KOSU reporter Kateleigh Mills asked three first-time candidates about their experiences campaigning during a pandemic.
Engagement strategy: Using audio diaries to tell first-person stories
August 24, 2020
Kansans Reveal Their Coronavirus Anxieties, From Money To Loneliness
A new poll shows Kansans are feeling stressed by the coronavirus pandemic and its economic toll, but largely in favor of shutdown measures. From Kansas News Service.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
June 9, 2020
Nebraska City’s Tough Start To Its Tourism Season
Visiting the home of Arbor Day — Nebraska City, Nebraska. In late April, the town canceled an annual celebration that has been central to the town’s cultural identity for more than a century.
Engagement strategy: Building relationships and identifying community connectors to inform and amplify rural communities' issues and aspirations
June 5, 2020
'We're Surviving... I Think That's Where We Need To Be Right Now'
Elizabeth Bass’ brother and father both tested positive for COVID-19. In her audio diary, she talks about the feeling of crushing helplessness and learning how to grieve and celebrate. From KOSU.
Engagement strategy: Part of a project to record first-person oral histories of Oklahomans across the state
April 17, 2020
''I Wake Up In This Fog Wondering, 'Is This Real?'''
Paul Levy of Seminole County, Oklahoma, has worked in the oil field equipment industry for more than 30 years, has asthma and both he and his wife have parents in their 80s. So the coronavirus pandemic has hit him in many ways. From KOSU.
Engagement strategy: Part of a project to record first-person oral histories of Oklahomans across the state
April 7, 2020
I-4 Votes: WUSF and WMFE
Your Election 2020 Questions, Answered Here
The State We're In answers questions about voting. Nothing is off limits - it's a judgment free zone to help you vote smartly and safely.
Engagement strategy: Answering audience needs through various means, from forms to Facebook Live.
October 19, 2020
How Coronavirus Is Keeping One Florida Family Apart
Nikole Amador, 16, and her parents are all fighting the coronavirus illness in their Miami-Dade County home. The teenager shares how she navigates online high school, worry for her ailing father, and pain from her own symptoms. From WUSF.
Engagement strategy: Asking listeners to share their stories via a Google form.
April 24, 2020
What Do Recent Protests Against Police Brutality Mean For Central Florida
This episode of “The State We’re In” talks to two young activists and a pastor about the protests happening across the country and in their communities.
Engagement strategy: Building new audience through Facebook Live shows that connect viewers with experts.
June 10, 2020
Ask Your Coronavirus Questions On New Facebook Live show ‘The State We’re In’
WUSF in Tampa and WMFE in Orlando are launching a new show — “The State We’re In” – broadcasting live on Tuesdays at 12 p.m. ET on their respective Facebook pages. Each week, the hosts and guests will look at how the pandemic is reshaping people and communities along the I-4 corridor.
Engagement strategy: Building new audience through Facebook Live shows that connect viewers with experts.
April 14, 2020
Stay At Home Orders Make Artists Pivot
In-person art performances have been off-limits for most people since coronavirus changed our daily routines. But that's not stopping actors and artists from their craft.
Engagement strategy: Building new audience through Facebook Live shows that connect viewers with experts.
May 12, 2020
Mountain West News Bureau
Elevated Risk: Police Violence In The Mountain West
The Mountain West region has the highest rate of fatal encounters with police in the entire country. Drawing on extensive data from across the region and listening sessions with Mountain West residents and law enforcement officers, our series "Elevated Risk" takes a hard look at law enforcement in the region.
Engagement strategy: Using listening sessions to hear concerns from the community
January 15, 2021
KUNR’s First Spanish Engagement Event: Education During COVID-19
KUNR hosted a Facebook Live event in Spanish, with health and education experts, to answer community questions. Bilingual reporter Natalie Van Hoozer moderated the Q&A and published a story in both Spanish and English.
Engagement strategy: Using digital platforms to reach new audiences where they are.
September 11, 2020
Across The Great Divide: A Reporter, A Bicycle & 900 Miles Listening To Small Town America
Nate Hegyi, rural reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau, is embarking on a 900-mile cycling trip crisscrossing the continental divide in August and September, interviewing and listening to Americans ahead of the 2020 election. Here are his posts.
Engagement strategy: Meeting community members through a form of “slow journalism”
Beginning Aug. 26, 2020
Businesses In A Montana Border Town Suffer Without Traffic In And Out Of Canada
In March, when the Canadian and U.S. governments agreed to essentially shut down their shared land border in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, it left a lot of businesses in a lurch. Here’s a look at what’s happening in those towns.
Engagement strategy: Talking to communities not regularly covered by the media.
July 20, 2020
Survey: Majority Of Mountain West Unhappy With Trump's Handling Of Pandemic
Nearly two-thirds of residents in the Mountain West believe Trump isn't doing a good job handling the pandemic, according to a survey from researchers at Harvard, Rutgers, Northeastern and Northwestern universities.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
July 9, 2020
Spurred By Debunked Antifa Rumors, Armed Men And Women Stand Watch Over Protests
At rallies across several Western states and the country – armed people and militia members showing up at rallies over police violence and racism in light of rumors about antifa presence.
Engagement strategy: Uncovering false stories through social media
June 8, 2020
For Some In Rural Communities Spared By COVID-19, Sacrifices Stir Resentment
Sanders County, Montana, is one of more than 100 counties in the Mountain West that have had no confirmed cases of coronavirus. So opinions about the state shutdown order differ.
Engagement strategy: Building relationships and identifying community connectors to inform and amplify rural communities' issues and aspirations.
May 21, 2020
Need An Absentee Ballot For Idaho's Primary? You Have To Apply Soon! Here's How
With Idaho using 100 percent absentee ballots for its primary election, there are a few key deadlines voters need to know.
Produced by America Amplified.
Engagement strategy: Producing guides to address election-related information needs
May 13, 2020
With Economic Engines Stalled By COVID-19, Wind River Faces Uncertain Future
The Northern Arapaho Tribe and Eastern Shoshone run several gaming businesses in Wyoming that have been closed by safety measures. What will the future hold?
Engagement strategy: Building relationships and identifying community connectors to inform and amplify rural communities' issues and aspirations.
May 8, 2020
In North Idaho, COVID-19 Restrictions And Social Media Stoke Deep Political Divisions
Sandpoint, Idaho, has long attracted both moderates and some far-right, anti-government activists. That divide is playing out over the state’s stay-at-home orders.
Engagement strategy: Building relationships and identifying community connectors to inform and amplify rural communities' issues and aspirations.
May 8, 2020
These Reno Seniors Help Put COVID-19 In Context of Polio
Reporter Noah Glick chatted over the phone with three people who offered a dose of historic perspective during these trying times.
Engagement strategy: Partnering with a senior services group and engaging through social media
April 14, 2020
Can Tenants Stop Landlords From Hosting Open Houses During The Pandemic?
Jesus and his family rent a home in Reno, Nevada. Their landlord recently put the house up for sale. Does his family have to let people in? From KUNR.
Engagement strategy: Using a digital form to reveal community needs
April 7, 2020
Pandemic Puts Co-Parenting Arrangements To The Test
Holly Sprigg of Lander, Wyoming, and her ex-husband share 50/50 custody of their children. Fortunately, they have a good co-parenting relationship, but it’s not so for every family in a similar situation.
Engagement strategy: Using a digital form to reveal community needs
April 24, 2020
Montana Town’s High COVID-19 Death Rate IS A Warning For Rural West
The area has one of the highest per capita death rates from COVID-19 in the entire West, which means this quiet, high plains town has lessons to offer the rest of the rural West. From Boise State Public Radio.
April 15, 2020
Newspapers’ Dilemma: How To Cover The Pandemic When There’s No Money?
The Sandpoint Reader in Sandpoint, Idaho, was forced to lay off most of its staff — 3 out of 4 people — after it lost advertising revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. How the lone editor is making it through. From Boise State Public Radio.
Engagement strategy: Building relationships and identifying community connectors to inform and amplify rural communities' issues and aspirations.
April 6, 2020
These Young Nevada Latino Voters Plan To Caucus
Ahead of the Feb. 22 Nevada caucus, three Latino college students in Northern Nevada say they plan to vote, but feeling like their voices matter is a challenge. From KUNC.
Engagement strategy: Identified university as a community connector with young Latino voters
February 20, 2020
New England News Collaborative
What The Biden Administration Will Mean For Climate Change In New England
A look at climate change in New England region and the Biden administration could affect future climate action. Informed by comments and questions from listeners and residents.
Engagement strategy: Coordinating callouts (email, voicemail, call-in) before the show to gather community insights
January 14, 2021
New England's Abolitionist History At Odds With Racist Realities
A special radio series on “Racism in New England” — produced by the New England News Collaborative and America Amplified. Four weekly episodes will focus on New England’s direct involvement and complicity in slavery and white supremacy.
Engagement strategy: Coordinating callouts (email, voicemail, call-in) before the show to gather community insights
Premieres Sept. 17, 2020
Call-In Special: Health Care Workers On The Pandemic's Frontlines
Health care workers in New England are facing incredible challenges on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic, from long hours and dangerous conditions to shifting public policies. Above, Dr. Gilberto Ramirez gears up to visit a patient after a COVID-19 test was conducted in Bloomfield, Conn.
The show was hosted by New Hampshire Public Radio.
Engagement strategy: Coordinating callouts (email, voicemail, call-in) before the show to gather community insights
April 3, 2020
Call-In Special: How Can New England's Economy Survive Coronavirus?
This special brings together voices from across the region — from family farms to fishermen — to discuss the impact the pandemic has had on New England’s economy.
This special was hosted by Connecticut Public Radio.
Engagement strategy: Coordinating callouts (email, voicemail, call-in) before the show to gather community insights
April 10, 2020
Call-In Special: Coronavirus Upends Schooling For Millions Of Kids
The coronavirus pandemic has closed schools across the U.S., affecting nearly 2 million public school students in New England alone. Through various engagement callouts (email, voicemail, call-in) the show hosted by Connecticut Public Radio. More specials are planned every Friday at a different station.
Engagement strategy: Coordinating callouts (email, voicemail, call-in) before the show to gather community insights
March 27, 2020
Ohio Valley ReSource
Answering Your Questions About The COVID-19 Vaccines
With the arrival of vaccines, people have questions. In partnership with America Amplified.
Engagement strategy: Using Hearken to solicit questions
December 17, 2020
Last-Minute Voting Questions In The Election Home Stretch
New voting regulations have caused some confusion for Ohio Valley voters, and the Ohio Valley ReSource asked what questions voters had.
Engagement strategy: Using Hearken to solicit questions in the community.
October 30, 2020
From Appalachia To Wyoming: Youth From Coal Country Discuss The Future After Coal
Youth from old coal country meet youth from new coal country for a virtual discussion on what life is like in these towns.
Engagement strategy: Holding virtual meetings to bring communities together
October 23, 2020
A Pandemic Voter’s Guide For Ohio
Ohio Valley ReSource created voters guide for each of the three states in its region: Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. With each guide are answers to questions people asked through Hearken.
Engagement strategy: Using Hearken to solicit questions in the community.
September 30, 2020
How this rural Appalachian program delivers fresh produce, meals to families
In eastern Kentucky, which has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, getting food to its residents has been of utmost importance. The massive effort even involves volunteer fire departments.
Engagement strategy: Building relationships and identifying community connectors to inform and amplify rural communities' issues and aspirations.
June 9, 2020
A Pandemic Voter Guide For Kentucky’s Primary Election
What residents need to know about absentee ballots for the June 23 primary election.
Engagement strategy: Producing guides to address election-related information needs
May 27, 2020
Questions, Anxiety Mount Over COVID-19 Workplace Safety As Businesses Reopen
This story answers questions people had about going back to work.
Engagement strategy: Using Hearken, a digital engagement platform, to identify community needs and concerns
May 28, 2020
A Pandemic Voter Guide For West Virginia’s 2020 Primary
Here’s what residents need to know about voting in the rescheduled June 9 primary, including important deadlines and how in-person voting works.
Engagement strategy: Producing guides to address election-related information needs
May 14, 2020
A Pandemic Voter Guide For Ohio’s 2020 Primary
What voters in Ohio need to know about being able to vote in the rescheduled April 28 primary. Produced by America Amplified.
Engagement strategy: Producing guides to address election-related information needs
April 16, 2020
How Will We Vote In The Age Of Coronavirus?
A look at what voters can expect in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia, with a Hearken solicit to ask readers for more questions.
Engagement strategy: Producing guides to address election-related information needs
April 16, 2020
Your Coronavirus Questions, Answered
The Ohio Valley ReSource and its partner stations asked you what you wanted to know and got answers from an expert.
Engagement strategy: Using Hearken, a digital engagement platform, to identify community needs and concerns
April 2, 2020
Side Effects Public Media
Survey: Parents and Teachers Grapple with In-Person Learning
A new national survey from Public Agenda finds teachers and parents are in broad agreement that in-person teaching during COVID is dangerous. Both groups also have their own challenges and concerns.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
January 27, 2021
You Asked: COVID-19 information for Burmese immigrants
Side Effects partnered with Indiana University linguistics professor Kelly Harper Berkson and the Chin Languages Research Project to provide information about COVID-19 to the Burmese-American community in Hakha Lai, a common language spoken by Burmese-Americans.
Engagement strategy: Translating stories to reach a non-English-speaking audience
July 21, 2020
Think Americans Are Polarized Over Reopening, Face Masks? Survey Says Think Again
This national survey from Public Agenda, USA Today and Ipsos Hidden Common Ground of about 1,000 people found agreement on several issues regardless of political affiliation.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
May 29, 2020
Essential Voices: A series on people confronting COVID-19
David Vega is a fourth year-medical student at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Earlier this year, he was in Africa, then Florida, then returned to Indiana. He started feeling ill, then later was diagnosed with COVID-19.
This new series interviews those on the front lines of fighting COVID-19.
Engagement strategy: Using personal narratives to connect with a community
April 16, 2020
You Asked: Why Is COVID-19 Hitting African-Americans So Hard?
Indiana Public Broadcasting’s digital producer Lauren Chapman and reporter Justin Hicks joined Side Effects Public Media’s Brittani Howell on Facebook Live to answer questions about the new coronavirus and COVID-19. After the April 2 show, Side Effects posted this story.
Engagement strategy: Using Public Input, a texting platform, to identify community needs and concerns
April 10, 2020
You Asked: How Does COVID-19 Compare To The Flu?
The popular FAQ series using its texting exchange continues with: “Please compare the current number of deaths from the COVID-19 virus with the average number of deaths due to the flu in the U.S. over the last decade.”
Engagement strategy: Using Public Input, a texting platform, to identify community needs and concerns
April 3, 2020
Survey: COVID-19 Brings U.S. Communities Together
Side Effects Public Media reporter Christine Herman reports on the results of the latest Public Agenda/USA Today/Ipsos Hidden Common Ground survey, which shows many Americans are having positive experiences that give them hope for the future.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
April 3, 2020
Side Effects Launches "Midwest Checkup" Text Group
The Midwest Checkup is a text tool to strengthen the connection between community members and reporters who cover health in the region. This tool is in an addition to the established Indiana Two-Way group.
Engagement strategy: Using Public Input, a texting platform, to identify community needs and concerns
You Asked: What Does A 'Stay-At-Home' Order Really Mean?
From what businesses can stay open to what you’re allowed to do, this story answers questions people have about the the “Stay-At-home” Order.
Engagement strategy: Using Public Input, a texting platform, to identify community needs and concerns
March 23, 2020
You Asked: Can I Boost My Immunity To Coronavirus?
The answers to this question and more fielded during the March 11 All IN show from Indiana Public Broadcasting. The main FAQs have also been translated to Spanish.
Engagement strategy: Using Public Input, a texting platform, to identify community needs and concerns
March 15, 2020
Survey: Americans Agree Health Care Is Broken
A “Hidden Common Ground” survey from Public Agenda, USA Today and Ipsos found that 92 percent of Americans say changes to the U.S. health care system are needed.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
Feb. 6, 2020
StateImpact Pennsylvania
In a politically divided time, Erie residents on how to start talking to one another again
Reporter Sam Dunklau gathered residents from across Erie for a virtual conversation across party lines.
Engagement strategy: Virtual conversations to find throughlines and solutions
January 6, 2021
From Philly to Erie, 12 Pa. voters talk about their crucial swing state vote
StateImpact Pennsylvania reporters talked with people across the state about who they are voting for and how they’re being affected by the biggest issues of the year.
Engagement strategy: Revisiting some previous sources to continue growing relationships
October 27, 2020
Corridor Counts series on Latinos and the election
The Corridor Counts project by Anthony Orozco is three-part series that profiles Latinos in each county along Route 222 in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election.
Engagement strategy: Visiting communities to tell a story with a common thread
October 26, 2020
Poll: More Americans on both sides of the political spectrum want a higher minimum wage
A new Hidden Common Ground survey from Public Agenda, Ipsos and USA Today shows more Republicans support raising the federal minimum wage now than before the pandemic hit.
Engagement strategy: Using polling data to humanize a number-driven narrative
Sept. 30, 2020
How Erie’s Black Wall Street is trying to change the city
Through spending time in Erie, reporter Ed Mahon learned of a grassroots group of Black residents who are trying to change the city’s low ranking when it comes to racial disparities in income, education achievement gaps and other factors.
Engagement strategy: Using social media to amplify what’s happening in a community
August 17, 2020
WHYY’s Embedded 2020 series spotlights what’s happening in communities
See the stories WHYY has done looking at what is happening in the lives of people around Pennsylvania during this election year.
Ongoing
Puerto Rican community in Pa. displaced by Hurricane Maria eager to vote in 2020
Displaced Puerto Rican voters are among the half-million Latinos eligible to vote in the commonwealth. This story meets some of them to learn of their experiences in Maria and what their concerns are now.
Engagement strategy: Embedding a reporter in a community
Sept. 22, 2020
Reopening economy in a COVID-19 hotspot stresses doctors in rural Pa.
In rural Pennsylvania, residents are debating the benefits of opening the economy and concern over spreading the coronavirus.
Engagement strategy: Using a digital form to reveal community concerns and building relationships and identifying community connectors
May 29, 2020
A Grieving Mom Is On A Hunger Strike At Freedom Corner. The Hill District Has Embraced Her.
On July 3, Dannielle Brown arrived in Pittsburgh's Hill District neighborhood at Freedom Corner, a historic landmark, and began a hunger strike. She wants to know what really happened when her son died in 2018 at Duquesne University.
Engagement strategy: Using personal narratives to connect with a community
Sept. 2, 2020
Clash over reopening economy simmers below the surface in rural Pa. COVID hotspot
Chambersburg accounts for about half of the more than 560 COVID-19 cases in the county. Yet In parts of the county, the coronavirus feels like a far-away problem. Here’s how the tension is playing out. Part of WHYY’s Embedded 2020 series.
Engagement strategy: Using personal narratives to connect with a community
May 15, 2020
WABE
Suburban Black Female Voters Aim To Make Their Voices Heard
In partnership with Local Voices Network, reporter Roxanne Scott held a virtual call with a group of Black women who live in the suburbs to listen to their thoughts about the election.
Engagement strategy: Holding virtual meetings to bring together communities with a common thread
October 30, 2020
South Asian Voters Seek More Representation, Work To Flip Georgia’s Suburbs
In partnership with Local Voices Network, reporter Roxanne Scott held a virtual call with a group of south Asian women who live in the suburbs to listen to their thoughts about the election.
Engagement strategy: Holding virtual meetings to bring together communities with a common thread
October 15, 2020
Equipment Delays, Confusion, No Hand Sanitizer: Ga. Voter Complaints Dominate Start Of Election Day
Voters in Georgia reached out to WABE to share their experiences with long lines, broken machines during the June 9 primary election.
Engagement strategy: Asking the public to share their experiences to reveal problems in governmental systems.
June 9, 2020
Voting In Georgia’s June Primary? Here’s Everything You Need To Know
A guide to what voters needs to know to cast a ballot in the rescheduled June 9 primary. Produced by America Amplified.
Engagement strategy: Producing guides to address election-related information needs
May 6, 2020
What now? Work and the Coronavirus
Through poignant audio diaries, WABE is painting a picture of what work life is like as the country lives through the pandemic.
So far, the series has featured an EMT, a truck driver, a school cafeteria assistant manager , a restaurant owner and a server.
Engagement strategy: Using personal narratives to connect with a community
Ongoing
Atlantans Begin To Adapt To Social Distancing
It’s been a little over a week of social distancing for Atlantans, so WABE asked how people are doing with social distancing so far, and what they hope for this coming week. This story idea came from a person who left a voicemail with the station.
Engagement strategy: Using a digital form to reveal community needs
March 23, 2020