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From Niche to Norm: How can we make Community-Centered Reporting more mainstream?
Five Ways To Grow Community-Centered Journalism
This is an extract from my September 2024 report on Advancing Community-Centered Journalism. Read Chapter 1 on the principles that underpin this practice here. In Chapter 2, I outline the challenges facing this practice and how to overcome them.
In this penultimate section, we explore how to grow Community-Centered Journalism so that its practice becomes stronger and more prominent.
Although Community-Centered Journalism is not a new practice, with many characteristics deeply rooted in ethnic and community media, it remains a nascent — albeit growing — area of journalistic endeavor.
Nonetheless, despite this growth, as Andrea Wenzel has outlined, Community-Centered Journalism may encounter resistance due to potential (or perceived) clashes with a number of journalistic norms. This includes perceptions of objectivity, journalism’s traditional gatekeeper role, and the need to build accountability mechanisms with the communities you are working with.
We do not take these concerns lightly. However, as Wenzel has shown, these challenges are not insurmountable. With the right mindset, training, and commitment, newsrooms can…
