Elevate Engagement Session Notes

Leads: Ashley & Lori

Facilitating engagement within newsrooms to support and model engagement outside.

Tasks:
+ create slack channel
+ find Zoom channel
+ Share resources, research, and ID potential funding sources

Who’s involved:
Jackie Hai
Bill Densmore
Linda Miller
August Frank
Emily Olson
Mike Green
Alex Powers
Joy Mayer
Simon Nyi

Q1: How do you seek authentic ways for communities to connect in rural communities around the world?- Kathryn Langstaff

Q2: How can live streaming be a simple and effective solution for effective civic engagement?- Marpessa Allen

Title: Civic Engagement and Government Transparency in Rural Communities

Participants: Michelle Ferrier, Cornelia Reiliel, Kathryn Langstaff, David Zeman, Lauren Pobst, Jessie Hardman, Fiona Morgan, Mike Green, Tony Shawcross, Marpessa Allen, & Neil Moyer (MetroTV special guest, Open Media Client in Eugene, OR)

We opened with introductions of all the participants. Kathryn originally posed the question about authentic engagement in rural communities. She expressed the unique challenges of meeting the needs of rural communities which included: lack of reliable internet connection, building trust as an “outsider”, smaller population size, budget.

The group acknowledged “rural communities” are not the same. Each rural community has its own set of unique issues, but after the last Presidential election win, it highlighted the lack of understanding we have of rural communities. Tony and Marpessa shared that Open Media Project is a live stream solution that has the potential of leveling the playing field for rural communities. Neil was a special guest from the City of Eugene who has been a client for the last year.

Neil shared that they chose OMP because it was easy for the community to use and consistently rely on finding their government meetings without having to show up for every meeting. Marpessa highlighted the benefits for rural communities included that the use of streaming with a smartphone/ tablet to address budget issues; free to populations less than 5,000 in population, and the upcoming notification feature with Twilio. Tony also share the “She Said, He Said” Project which provides extensive information about what Colorado legislators are saying and the bills they are sponsoring.

Most in the group agreed that there are challenges in any community. As the group concluded, for rural communities it would be beneficial to take more time to understand the “eco-system of rural communities.”

For more information on Open Media Project, you can visit: www.ompnetwork.org or more information you can read this article about She said, He Said – https://sunlightfoundation.com/2016/05/26/opengov-voices-she-said-he-said-opens-the-books-in-colorado/.

Leader: Keegan Clements-Housser
Participants: Linda Ellinor

Goal: Track and collate efforts by members of this community to implement community engagement techniques, so we as a community can assess what’s working, what’s not working, and why. I will gather info from interested community members and release a monthly synopsis of what the community has found, as well as link to any data provided (this will be posted in Gather). This will allow our members’ newsrooms and organizations across the globe to collaborate on developing new methods by sharing information. If you’re struggling with something that someone else has already figured out and vice versa, it’s better to share than to reinvent the wheel.

Task:

1. Connect with members of the community interested in participating. This will be done via the FB group and Twitter. Deadline is end of May. (Keegan)

2. Hold our first monthly check-in call. Format TBD, but likely a conference call or group chat of some variety. Input on format is welcome. Deadline is middle of June. (Linda and Keegan)

3. Create first monthly synopsis and post to Gather, along with any associated data shared by participating community members. Deadline is the end of June. (Keegan)

ACTION COMMITMENTS TO DO WITH GROUPS

Seven people in total agree to do action follow-ups.

Gather person: I commit to be a major convenor on Gather, working with other people

Ashley: I would like to bring Open Space inside newsrooms so we can have some of these conversations there.

I’m going to commit to tracking efforts about community engagement among this group and share results

I commit to convene this community in real life again to build on the things we’ve discussed here.

I want to hire you guys and or the really on fire people in your life who care about community engagement. At Hearken.

I want to create a short adaptable guide for journalists so they can design and facilitate community conversations in their own communites.

Linda Miller: I’d like to formalize listening corps in media organizations.

I’m offering to serve as a personal connector and introducer between people with new ideas and news organizations across America.

CLOSING CIRCLE

46 people in the circle

My hope is that we will evolve a method for keeping the space among use open in email, Gather, Slack, FB, phone or whatever. Don’t stop connecting; make the effort to tell the stories of your little successes and frustrations so that we an all help one another and our communities.

Try to rememer to be a person first.

Don’t hesitate to come and find me.

Collapse of industry not all doom and gloom.

Emily McDonald: Thankyou.

Thanks for reating space of openeness and vulnerability

Thank you.

Onward and togetherward.

Inspired and challenged.

Pretty tired but ready to rest and start doing again.

Fiona Morgan: WE are building something new, we don’tknow how yet but we have everythingwe need.

Michell: Flock together now with love.

Kemmin clemetowser : Let’s really collaborate, really do it.

Peton Brun: Fight for your goals.

Adnrew Devigali: Thank leadership and guidance and partnership that Regina provides and empowers us to do the work, important to school, Agora and community. Thank the partnership with Peggy. Fascinating working with Peggy and Tova, recognizing you are working with one Jedai and then you realize there are multiple masters. Also Ashley, Lorie, Katherine and Fiona for taking up the help of leading. Stephen, Michelle tanks for partnership and guidance. Look forward to continuing the hard work we have in front of us.

Lorri: This is wonderful.

Tova: Appreciates being invited and felt welcome even though she is different – nto a journalist. Thanks for something that moved me verymuch today and that was journalism is known for its storytelling role orfunctino and what I saw today is many masters of meaning-making. I want to hve at least one jurnalist in everything I do because you are master meaning makers.

Thanks for inviting me, we have a lot of editing todo this year. I hope we’ll sit together and do it.

Listening as a superpower. Thanks for sharingthat with me.

Arborjournal2 — Periscope. It’s been streamed

Peggy: Thanks for taking the time to do the appreciations. Seconed time more phenomenal than the fist. Regina thanks for making the space for us to do this work. Stephen, it has been 18 years we have invented and evolved the form you see here. Thanks for being with me on this journey. To my new found friends and partners in crime – Ashley, and Katherine and Fiona and Lorrie – they are teaching me how to be imcompetent again. Supporting a new generation in growing is a whole new muscle. Yes, we need to change the mix of who’s in the room. And re-imaging journalism in the contxt of something biggest in civic communications. And to all of you for going on this ride. It’s been an extraordinary trip.

Never let the practical silence the apsirational.

Thank-you all for letting me listen and I hope we can all move forward in a spirit of listening.

I am questioning my place in journalism – bothscary and exciting. I’m looking forward to what comes next.

We’re in te beginning. You guys can just imagine if you were in gh beginning stages of your career, your life, having an experience like this to inform your work, where you would be and the aspirations you have and the burden that it really feels like; I appreciate all of you for helping put that burden on me because it is an important one fo rus to carry.

This weekend has een a discovery of a multitude of brilliant ideas. Some little, some big. I’ve been thinking about all those little bits of light.

March: I truly believe that together there is nothing we cannot do.

I never knew the tribe of engagement journalists existing until I went to People Power publishing. I lookforward to continuing to engage.

Mike Fancerh: Graduated from SOJC almost 50 years ago and here I am. Sometime with God’s will you will be my age and you will remember this day and experience and what blessing that is.

Linda Miller: Dandelions and weeds. Let’s not forget about the weeds in our midst and they have a certain beautiy and place in our yard and they spread.

Ashley: Can’t do aprpeicateions with weaping. When you are struggling to believe and are not sure about what you are doing this is the group that will give n an oxygen mask.

Stehen: Foloow yourown weird.

Joy: Leaving with a psirit that he umbrella over the tribe in this room is broad enough to support people who aren’t here.

Tobin Miller; I’m seeing all thse amazing opportunities of these fields coming together.

My hope is that we will evolve a method for keeping the space among use open in email, Gather, Slack, FB, phone or whatever. Don’t stop connecting; make the effort to tell the stories of your little successes and frustrations so that we an all help one another and our communities.

Mike Green: Thank the organizers for this space and time. Applause please. Leaving here having increased my network by at least 100 people. My social capital bank account is exploding right now.

Christine Whitney Sanchez: Thanks for allowing me into your village. Lawyers and journalists are going to save us

Tanks for allowing me into your village and the garvey methaphoris prevalent because it is organic. This is a natural season of change. You are the chroniclers and the meaning makers. Soemtimes dandelions are feeds and sometimes they are food. I hope we can turn that around. AS a gardener with way too many seeds.

Robin Teeter: Elevate the voice of citizens and improve public discourse. Our work is your work and your work is really our work. Thank-you for the oppirtnity to be reborn.

Carl Eisenback: Revolution. One word we are all part of.

Thanks for creativity and openness and for so many good ideas to steal.

Ivon: IN journaism for 35 years, feels very encouraged after this conference.

Elain: Wasn’t sure I would be able to make it. I was here at first one. This experience has been different I think ti is an elevation from lsat time and I am greatful to you for suffering me. Last time I was wearing a T-shirt that had poop on it and said get shit done. Check out my earings this time.

I keep looking at thoese flowers, there is diversity in there and they are beautiful – tulips, irises, daisies and it reminds me of all of us here. I can’t express how much I appreciate you all.

I’ve been thinking about a conversation Elaine and I had. A student journalist yesterday made the point that the conflicted feelings I have is not a bad thing and that we are on theright track towards doing something about it. It’s a good thing.

Katherine Thier: When I was a journalist I was very frustrated by the fact there was no space in the newsroom for these types of ideas and it was very very painful. I felt at war with myself and what journalism was supposed to be about. Being here shows there are so many other people care and who are now actively working to make a difference. That’s really inspiring to me and I want to bring that back to my students because they are gong to be the next generation trying to do this.

Simon: Coming out of this struck by how many of us are trying to accomplish the same things and how deeply shared a lot of our alues are but we are also able to productively challene ach other at the same time. I feel we’re at an inflection point, where people need to talk to each other about similar projects This can be the start of the transition of working on projects independently butbringing them together.

Regina: Thanks for your commitment of your time. Without Mike Fancher there wouldn’t not have been an Agora Journalism Center. Without JTM there would not have been this really unique program. Without Andrew none of thise would have happened.

Alisha: I’m ot a journalist but I exist in a weird in-between space. This experience has shown me that working for shared values and a better world can be joyful, fun, give me energy rathr than crashing into bed at night and seeing nobody. It feels like a human way of working.

Amy: I had no idea what to expect when I got here. I had not to be an event like this before. I’ve learned a ton. I will takeit back to the newsroom. I did nto expect to meet so many people who care for journalims and are routing for journliasts to succeed. Thank-you all for that.

View photos from Elevate Engagement at this link:

Listen to MP3 audio files within this folder:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B87Bd6VlF6wbdFJuZG5vWDhkV3c

Or here:
http://newshare.com/jtm-pdx17

Session Hosts: Keegan Clements-Housser & Amber Rivera

Participants
Karen Alvarado
Alex Powers
Cameron Whitten
Emily Olson
Bill Densmore
Matt Gatie
Khari Johnson
Shawn Poynter
Linda Jue
Lauren Pabst

“Citizen journalism is here to stay; we can’t put that genie back in the bottle.”

Note: Throughout the session we used, interchangeably, the terms citizen journalism /community journalism/participatory journalism.

Why are you here?
• Collect wisdom on how we get the “pros” to recognize citizen journalists
• How to hand the reins to community
• The credentialing of citizen journalists
o +1; More news; less opinion
• Some countries have a panel for credentialing citizen journalists. Why not in the U.S., when there’s evidence of the value of every citizen being a reporter in our founding documents?
• Emergence of technology has changed the game…how might community journalists represent their biases in ways that are different than traditional journalists?
• Ethical decisions are personal…so what kind of training do citizen journalists need in it?
• “Participatory civic media” – a branch of focus for the MacArthur Foundation right now

What are the strengths and weaknesses of professional journalism, and of community journalism? (* indicates an item that was listed as both a strength and a weakness)

Professional journalism – Strengths
• Consistency of approach
• Set of ethical norms
• An entity for a consumer to appeal to if he or she is aggrieved
• Audience
• Dogma of objectivity*
• Compensation structures
• Legal protection & an institution to back you as a journalist
• Legitimacy & access in official spaces (asking for an interview with the Mayor, e.g.)
• Resources
• Network of colleagues

Professional journalism – Weaknesses
• Inflexible
• Pressure from the ownership/financial ties/system/donors
• Focused on the audience, and driven by that focus (direct or indirect)
• Dogma of objectivity*
• False equivalency/balance in the reporting

Community journalism – Strengths
• Direct feedback from consumers – no institutional buffer
• Mission-driven. Specifically, social missions.
• Not yet jaded. Or jaded so much that the individual has been moved to action.
• Concerned about individual reputation in a community; personally accountable.
• No potential for editorial divergence from reporters’ coverage
• Lower barrier to entry*
• Biases are more apparent
• No deadlines, and no pressure to publish
• Can access some people that professional journalists cannot
• Editorial freedom (or, more flexible editorial structure)

Community journalism – Weaknesses
• Lower barrier to entry*
• Coverage gets picked up without attribution
• Exposure to risk
• Lack of an editor
• Invariable quality
• Uphill battle to be taken seriously
• Lack codified ethical framework
• Reliance on corporate social media platforms and their algorithms

How do we bridge these two areas of journalism? Ideas:
• There’s potential for collaborating around a shared agenda
• Always give attribution to citizen journalists if you use their work in your story
• Professional journalists could act as curators of citizen journalists’ content…maybe.
• Or, professional journalists could serve in the role of fact checker for the community journalist—only a fact checker/verification.
• We need a code of collaboration. Note: The Media Consortium is working on this!
• Poynter has been working on a code of conduct for citizen journalists
• Share the facts (Duke University Reporters’ Lab) is working to automate an index for accuracy…could that concept also be applied to individuals for legitimacy? (“BBB for citizen journalists, those who consume their content, and those who publish their content)
• Could establish community editors within news orgs whose only role is to build relationships with citizen journalists
• How can journalists hand off stories once they themselves must move on, for community journalists to continue the story?

Aside: Some emerging j-school trained journalists are unclear and anxious about how open they can be about their personal beliefs, in the current media/hiring ecosystem.

Host: Linda Miller, American Public Media

Participants:
Michelle Holmes
Anthony Advincula
Mike Green
March Tisdale
Simon Galperin
Meredith Clark
Karen Alvarado
Kristin Gustaff
Stephen Silha
Karl Evesenbach
Summer Fields

Notes:
We came. We listened. We shared. We cared.