Election 2024 Training Sessions

Intro to Engaged Elections

September 27, 2023: This foundational session provides newsrooms with a conceptual framework for understanding the need for and role of engagement work in elections. The session will outline the national need for access to clear, reliable information about how elections work and how to participate in them. We will talk about how this fits into a broader engaged election coverage strategy, and what an engaged election strategy can look like.

We will also showcase compelling, successful examples from public media newsrooms like LAist that have used engaged journalism models to address misinformation.

Network Mapping Pt. 1

October 25, 2023: (Who Are You Covering, Who Are You Missing)

This two-part session will help newsrooms compare who they currently serve with who they aim to serve and create a strategy for making those changes. We’ll help newsrooms map which audiences they’re not reaching and to develop smart plans for better listening and responding to those they haven’t served, ensuring that they are in alignment with their mission statements.

Network Mapping Pt. 2

November 15, 2023:

We’ll help newsrooms move from what will serve their current audiences to how to better serve a wider community. We’ll teach them ways to better research, understand and reach and serve marginalized communities. We’ll dive deeper into the populations and demographics they would like to better serve and help them map the current connections, partnerships and opportunities to reach those communities, listen to their needs and serve them with their coverage.

Engagement Strategies

November 29, 2023:

This session will provide stations with inspiration for their own engagement efforts by offering a wide range of ideas. Stations plan for addressing information needs during the election in the community or audience they’ve identified will begin to take shape through content that will emphasize best practices for thoughtfully including marginalized communities. Participants will learn practical ways to better engage the audience/communities they’ve chosen to focus on. See real-world examples of engagement in practice on all levels – Foundational, Expanded, and Full-scale.

Community & Internal Partners

December 13, 2023:

Partnerships are the secret sauce that takes foundational engagement and elevates it to expanded or full-scale engagement. Whether you’re visiting a classroom to answer students’ questions about our electoral system, or co-hosting a community conversation at a local library, you’ll need to manage the relationship effectively from start to finish. This session will inspire participants to pursue partnerships to elevate their engagement and provide them with the skills and concepts necessary to be effective partners themselves.

Pulling It All Together & Defining Success

January 10, 2024

This final workshop will help newsrooms see the throughlines from the training series. They’ll discuss how to determine what success looks like and how to shape their measurement approach to track activities and outcomes. After this session, they’ll be supported by their America Amplified coaches as well as the team at Impact Architects to continue enacting, testing, tracking and refining their strategy based on what they learn.