Why the Jefferson Center Supports Community-Driven Journalism
It’s been almost two years since the Jefferson Center announced the launch of the Your Voice Ohio media collaborative. During that time, over 215 reporters have joined the initiative, representing over 50 newsrooms. With our support, they’ve written dozens of solutions-oriented stories, informed by community meetings with 1300+ “everyday” people across the state.
But this project goes far beyond supporting the incredible collaborative of journalists who recognize the importance of engagement. Your Voice Ohio directly contributes to a healthier democracy. Here’s how:
Individuals realize their potential to create change
Near the end of all of our 2-hour community listening sessions, we ask participants to identify clear actions for themselves, journalists, and local leaders. As they start brainstorming and bouncing ideas off of each other, many people have a clear aha moment as they realize change doesn’t need to come from local politicians or government. They can take individual steps, and work with people in and outside of the room to be part of the solution. Your Voice Ohio meetings have turned into a launching point for people to plan neighborhood block parties, peer recovery groups, community education campaigns about addiction, and more.
There are a few potential reasons for this phenomenon: individuals have the unique opportunity to connect with their neighbors and work through community challenges together. People bring their own experiences, networks, and skills to the table, and plans to create change, using everyone’s unique contributions, quickly appear. We make sure participants know how they can take these ideas to their local leaders and amplify their stories.
As Darryl Holliday at City Bureau writes, “don’t just inform, don’t just engage — equip people to generate power.” That’s exactly what we aim to do, by getting people into the same room where they realize their incredible potential to create change and identify ways to make it happen.
We foster civic discussion
At any given community event, you might find a mix of medical professionals, elected officials, community organizers, faith leaders, local business owners, and young people. They have the chance to talk with each other, hear a totally different perspective, and brainstorm solutions together, which we’ve seen foster mutual respect, civility, and a renewed hope for the future of their community to take on whatever challenges appear.
At the close of each session we ask a few questions: How many of you met someone new? How many learned something new? How many would attend another session like this? Almost everyone raises a hand. This near unanimity suggests these dialogues are key for building community connections and engaging people across differences.
After a conversation addressing addiction in Wilmington, an attendee reflected, “It’s wonderful to see such a great cross-section of our community attend this event and contribute with their experiences and ideas on combating this epidemic. To see community leaders, journalists, physicians, law enforcement, Children’s Services providers, concerned citizens and addicts discussing causes and solutions in a roundtable format is encouraging in the ongoing battle in our community.”
Another participant in Washington Court House said, “I am 16-years-old. I want my voice to be heard and I’m really glad something like this is happening because communities need to come together and support each other and not use negativity, they need positivity.”
Journalists help community members navigate tough challenges
For a democracy to function, people need to have access to high quality information about the issues that impact their lives. But in traditional journalism, reporters don’t often have the opportunity to identify information gaps, or hear from unengaged community members. The forums help identify missing coverage, underreported issues, and put the needs of the community first.
In Marietta, Ohio, journalists learned that many community members were having issues with the local crisis hotline.They told reporters that when they called, it took a long time to reach a real person, and when that person was available, they could only act as a referral resource. Janelle Patterson, a journalist for the Marietta Times, called the local hotline numbers, and walked readers through her own experience while offering insight on how to seek the help they need. Local health services agreed to improve hotline and referral services in response to that reporting.
Public officials listen and respond
Public officials are always invited to our meetings, and after hearing their community discuss the issues they’re struggling with, they’ve taken action. In the Mid-Ohio Valley, community organizers noticed many stories about the lack of recovery resources. They launched a project with West Virginia University and local health care providers to study effective recovery methods, and worked with the local government to offer resources. A judicial candidate who attended our community conversation started a drug court when she took office, the need for which was discussed in-depth at the community meeting.
The mayor of suburban Green, Ohio, was working behind the scenes with an exploratory citizens group on increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the city. He was heartened by the fact that in Green meetings (all of which he attended) his community overwhelming expressed the desire to support local diversity and make the town more welcoming, and he made a public announcement about his initiative.
The Attorney General’s point person on the addiction crisis attended two sessions, in Dayton and Columbus, and later became head of the state’s recovery initiative. She asked to hear what journalists learned about addiction coverage to inform a media retreat focused on reducing harm and sharing solutions.
Looking Ahead
The current Your Voice Ohio project evolved from a statewide poll, community events, and a series of Citizens Juries. Participants in the final Citizens Jury were charged with evaluating the role or niche they would like to see local and Ohio-based media partners fill in order to better serve Ohioans during the 2016 Presidential Election and beyond.
Jurors resoundingly wanted to see more community events, so that journalists could identify important local priorities, uncover new stories, build relationships with the community, bring together different groups, educate community members and build issue awareness, and generate ideas.
Ohioans also recommended journalists embrace solutions journalism, writing about the most promising solutions to issues the community faces based on evidence and compelling data. Individuals wanted more direct knowledge of ideas, solutions, and sources for help on the biggest challenges they face daily.
With community conversations and a commitment to solutions-oriented reporting, the Your Voice Ohio collaborative is incorporating these practices directly into their newsrooms. We’re excited to continue supporting these journalists, and in turn, support a stronger democracy where everyone has the information, access, and resources they need to thrive.
Your Voice Ohio activities are funded by the Democracy Fund and the Knight Foundation.
