Listening Post Collective

The first step in the process - prior to development of engagement and outreach strategies - is listening to and identifying the information needs, the trusted information spaces, and the key leaders and influencers in the community. The founder of the Listening Post initiative, likens this first listening step to "development by walking around," meaning to informally assess a new environment through observation. The idea is that, without building relationships and listening to your community first, you risk leaving out certain populations. Without asking questions, you risk reaching out to "engage" via methods by which people won't respond. You miss the key step of building trust with local partners and individuals, which is the building block for true two-way communication.

With this in mind, the first project launched in New Orleans, Louisiana ("NOLA") in 2013. According to Internews, at that time in that city, access to quality local information was low after the trusted local paper endured layoffs and limited its publication; fewer reporters at the local paper meant fewer local stories, and more often than not, the only stories coming from lower income neighbourhoods were those of crime and violence. The digital divide was high -50% of homes did not have broadband access. Using cell phones and community recording devices, the Listening Post NOLA project started a conversation around core topics like housing, education, jobs, health, and environment, and shares that ongoing conversation online and on the airwave. Specifically, partnering with local public radio affiliate WWNO, the project shared news via SMS [text messaging], and also established stand-alone recording devices - giant fish like the one pictured above, where citizens push a button and talk into a microphone - in libraries, community centres, and local businesses to gather ideas and insights directly from communities. The NOLA Listening Post project continues to connect communities to news and provide opportunities for them to be heard. It has created a network of local partners, non-profits, city agencies, and citizens that offer ideas for Listening Post questions, co-host events, and help expand participation.

Since 2013, Internews has guided several other Listening Post Projects. For example, in Macon, GA the Center for Collaborative News at Mercer University launched a Listening Post project to look at housing and gun violence, moving on to focus on the divide between public and private education in Macon. In New Jersey, the Jersey Shore Hurricane News is using Listening Post strategies to dive deeper into the community and connect with their large audience offline to get to know them, as well as to better understand how important issues are affecting lives in the region. In Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Star & Tribune (local newspaper) is expanding reporting on the large local Somali immigrant population in the Twin Cities, using engagement strategies to better communicate with and hear from the Somali community.

The Listening Post Collective website provides mentorship, resources, tools, and peer-to-peer support for journalists, newsroom leaders, and community groups looking to revitalise their local news. For example, the Playbook [PDF] takes the reader through a 7-step process that involves:

1. Choose a community - "Which neighborhoods or populations in your community are covered by the media in a one dimensional way or not at all? Which areas are accustomed to journalists parachuting in, extracting a few quotes, and then leaving? These are the neighborhoods that most need news they can use, sustained engagement, and a platform to voice concerns, needs, and goals."
2. Visit and listen - "Go for a walk in the community, but leave your microphone behind....The point of all of this is to catch people in their daily comfort zones. Eventually you'll find ways to share important information through these spaces and networks."
3. Survey and document - "Craft an information needs survey to explore how people access and share information, which local sources they trust, and which issues they feel most passionate about. The results of the assessment will serve as a blueprint for your engagement work."
4. Craft questions - "Your goal is to make questions simple, inclusive, and relevant to the experience of residents."
5. Engage with community members - "Get creative, get offline, and make sure people have a way not only to answer your questions, but also to let you know how best to get back in touch with them. SMS is ideal."
6. Create content - "Use community feedback to identify new leads or new angles on trending issues - or ones lacking media attention - and produce items for your outlet that speak to the concerns and questions you are hearing."
7. Keep the conversation going - "Stay in touch with your citizen networks. Make it a priority to provide them with information on the topics they said mattered most. Providing feedback to your participants is a key step to building trust and sustaining a conversation in a widening constituency of Listening Post participants. The community needs to see that their contributions are utilized."

The steps are designed for flexibility - to allow for the creation and sustenance of a project that fits the unique information ecosystem of each community. People are then encouraged to share their own concrete experiences back onto the Discussion Board at the Listening Post Collective website.

Citizen Participation

According to Internews, in the US: "Many local media outlets have closed, or lack the funding and staff to do the deep reporting once expected of them. As people have turned increasingly to social media as a news source, their trust in journalism and public information has been undermined by the proliferation of click bait and fake news."