Organizing for Journalists
This toolkit is a step-by-step breakdown of how reporters can use the principles and practices of community organizers to deepen trust in the communities they serve, uncover underreported stories, and collaboratively identify solutions to local challenges.
When we say organizing, we don’t mean “activism.” Organizing is fundamentally about listening to people tell you what they need and what kind of world they want, and working collaboratively to make it happen.
This work requires us to build relationships based on shared values, and out of those relationships cultivate an organized constituency that’s ready, willing and able to demand change and hold the powerful accountable. This is called building power.
Since journalists and newsrooms have access to information in communities, have relationships with people in power, and have a platform, organizing in the context of journalism requires sharing power. And sharing power starts with shifting away from a traditional newsroom culture of transactional relationships to a culture that prioritizes deep listening and collaboration to build relationships that are rooted in community.