{"id":647,"date":"2023-09-22T11:17:26","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T18:17:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/journalismthatmatters.org\/engagingemergence\/?p=647"},"modified":"2023-09-25T09:18:35","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T16:18:35","slug":"community-communion-dont-scale-and-consideration-of-viewpoint-diversity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalismthatmatters.org\/engagingemergence\/2023\/09\/22\/community-communion-dont-scale-and-consideration-of-viewpoint-diversity\/","title":{"rendered":"Community & Communion Don’t Scale and Consideration of Viewpoint Diversity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Session Proposer\/Leader<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Heather Blakeslee, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief, Root Quarterly: Art and Ideas from Philadelphia <\/em>(heather@redpenarts.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Session Recorders<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Heather Blakeslee \/\/ Emily Bargo<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participant List<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Alex Keepe, WBEZ
Emily Bargo, Internews
Dylan Smith, Tucson Sentinal
Trip Jennings, New Mexico In Depth
Akshara Vivekananthan, Healthspan Foundation
Amir Richardson, WHYY
Dan Frumkin, Listening to America
Irene McKisson
Scott Blanchard WIFT
Megan Lucen, J+D People\u2019s Newsroom<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Issue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Media organizations, whether they be regionally-rooted print media, surgical interventions for certain communities, or larger projects are often asked by funders and supporters how they will \u201cscale.\u201d However, when solutions journalism and community-based media is committed to a place and a people, relationships and trust are paramount, as is not imposing the journalist\u2019s or outlet\u2019s views on the community they are covering\u2014ideally they are part of that community, but that\u2019s simply not possible much of the time. Additionally, there is viewpoint diversity within these communities and identity groups. It should go without saying that not all women, not black people, not all residents of South Philadelphia\u2014pick your identity group\u2014experience the world or think the same. And so how do we consider these two conflicting concepts\u2014one that prioritizes growth and operating \u201cat scale\u201d\u2014a concept that often isn\u2019t clearly defined and whose outcomes are not always good\u2014with the retail, person-to-person relationships and community building required of media organizations that are part of a healthy ecosystem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CONVERSATION TALKING POINTS<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Metrics and scale\u2014are we asking the wrong questions?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Monitoring and evaluation from foundations and supporters require some milestones and metrics, but they sometimes use the language and methods of business or venture capital\u2014Scale! Scale! Scale! As quickly as you can!\u2014rather than looking to long-term and sustainable growth that requires multiple year grants\u2014sometimes over a decade or more to really make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also a lot of things about \u201cscale\u201d that are truly awful: consider factory farming, or the exploitation of workers in factories whose companies have achieved scale. The idea of scaling something that is actually good for society may sometimes be a non-starter unless we look at the externalities. So what size is the right size for a project? Must we make a mouse into an elephant? What is in the DNA of a project?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One suggestion would be to put retail-level person-to-person interviews in a database to be able for other journalists to access. But can we trust our fellow interviewers? What is the context? The devil may be in the details here. 80% of human communication is non-verbal, and so how would words in a database really help us?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But just the process of talking with people is part of the product here. The act of questioning, searching, itself changes community dynamics and could build trust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At WHYY, they strive to keep conversation intimate\u2014they aren\u2019t town halls. In their conversations across difference <\/em>series, we wondered whether there was follow-up. Did the participants become more open-minded? More willing to come to conversations in a good-faith way, where they ask clarifying questions to understand rather than to convince, as Braver Angels uses in its methodology?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Braver Angels \u201cred\/blue\u201d workshop in PA in 2020, both sides agreed that our politicians don\u2019t represent us, that we are worried about big media and big tech consolidating power, and that we need to reclaim our communities from polarized discourse. We actually do have common ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a massive shift against civil dialogue (which doesn\u2019t always mean \u201cpolite\u201d or \u201ctone policing\u201d\u2014see Alexandra Hudson\u2019s new book \u201cThe Soul of Civility\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we invest in the people who are modeling behavior that results in good outcomes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other replication crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, when foundations say scale, they mean replicate\u2014how can I do this project\/program in another locale<\/em>? This is similarly unhelpful. How many times do we have to see that local and regional programs are just that:\u00a0local and regional<\/em>. They rely on geography, local leaders, local cultures and norms, history, and many other factors that are simply not analogous to other places. That is not to say that you can\u2019t take some of the bones of an idea and take it someplace else, but as Seth Kaplan writes in his forthcoming book \u201cFragile Neighborhoods,\u201d the neighborhood is the single most important unit in social cohesion. Shouldn\u2019t our media business models take that into account? And shouldn\u2019t foundations and other investors?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is our value? Impact?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We need to be seen by more people as more valuable\u2014as relevant\u2014to their lives. So it makes a difference what language we use. Journalism is an act of collective sensemaking<\/em>. We\u2019ve lost that art. How can we map and understand our own influence? And then how can we make the case for funding that impact?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need to set the expectations from the beginning, especially when working at the community level: this is what you can get from us and this is what you can\u2019t get from us because it\u2019s not possible<\/em>. We need to engage in participatory budgeting in that regard, engaging who we hope to serve in deciding what we put our resources into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trust is missing when it comes to the media, and it can only be built over time with consistent relationships. And maybe we can\u2019t get\u00a0content\u00a0<\/em>out of those\u00a0relationships\u00a0<\/em>that require\u00a0trust<\/em>. And you can\u2019t replace trust.\u00a0Change moves at the speed of trust.\u00a0<\/em>How do we solve this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewpoint Diversity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n