Measuring Impact: My work with the Irish community through social journalism
Back in the beginning of our social journalism master’s program, we met with the CEO of Meetup. I gleaned one phrase from that session that’s stuck with me the entire year. In the words of Jeff Jarvis when referring to the major theory behind social journalism, I remember, “It’s not about you. It’s about them.”
Those words, while I didn’t realize it at the time, became the driving force behind the work I set out on throughout the year. At the inception of our program, I felt that much of my work was going into a vacuum, and I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a bit of a disappointment. Sure, I’d share my stories on my own Facebook page and on occasion I’d have positive metrics on my Medium blog, but I wasn’t really reaching the community I was trying to write about. I’d politely ask my story subjects to share the stories with their friends and family in the community, but the scale was quite small.
You can’t crack a community right away, and gaining their trust over time is critically important if you’re going to do social journalism in the correct fashion. In social journalism terms, you can’t just “parachute in” and think you’re either going to make a difference or get the right story. However, with a little persistence and listening to the right people, I finally caught my break.
In a chance meeting with the editor of the Irish Echo Newspaper at the Ippie Awards, I managed to secure a gig as an arts and culture writer. While I wasn’t writing a great deal about Irish immigrants in New York City (my original topic in grad school), I had my window. A community gatekeeper entrusted me to reach out to their community, and I had earned a voice. I was suddenly able to walk in to community events and flash my Irish Echo card, and I had instant credibility. It was rather remarkable. I wrote about Irish fighter Connor McGregor’s impact on the Irish community in New York City. I covered cultural events and met community leaders. I even got to meet my favorite Irish comedian, all because of the Irish Echo and the backing they gave me. As of right now, I’m working on writing a story about an Irish musician, and my story will enable him to renew his visa and stay in the country. That’s the type of impact I never saw coming.
Even aside from the Irish Echo’s circulation increasing my profile (100,000 copies in physical print per week), my Facebook curation page, Irish-American Community News, really helped as well. Starting as a page where I circulated content from Ireland to a group that effectively consisted of people I knew, I changed directions after speaking with Kelly Fincham, founder of the Irish Central. I began putting lighter news in the feed along with more videos and pictures, and saw an absolute explosion in followers and interaction, going from 300 likes to over 1,000 in less than a month. Granted, my audience is largely in the United States, but I managed to take on a role as a community educator, which I take great pride in.
Most significantly, I was able to travel to Ireland and get impressions of modern Irish life and learn how it actually is as opposed to how it’s portrayed, which was not only incredibly valuable for my final report, but also for my mindset when reporting. Ireland is a nation steeped in cliche and stereotypes, but there’s a way of thinking there that runs deeply in the people. If you don’t understand your subject and the way they function, it’s hard to do your job correctly as a journalist. Ireland is my ancestral homeland and although I would (and have…and am…) deeply considering living some of my life there, I will never have the fully Irish mindset. It’s something I’ve tapped into by lots and lots of listening.
So what did I learn?
- Dont’ ever assume anything about your subject of focus. They are deeply complex no matter the subject, and you need to approach each story as if you know nothing about them or their lives. It’s their story, you’re just the scribe.
- Build trust. It takes time. Don’t get discouraged though; if you’re persistent, it can lead to some really cool opportunities.
- Be passionate. It sounds so simple, but when you care about what you’re doing in this field, it’s really not a job anymore. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with a group of people I love and feel a sense of kinship with, and they’ve taught me more about not only my roots, but the way “my people” think than I ever could have imagined. I owe the Irish community in New York City a debt of gratitude, and I hope to continue serving them into the future.
