Bottoms Up for Top Down News Coverage
Public Insight Journalism (PIJ) uses an approach to newsgathering that draws on the knowledge of community members to assist reporters and editors in strengthening their ability to cover complex, newsworthy subject matter. “Public Insight Journalism is the best opportunity that we see to reverse the national trend towards diminished depth and understanding in news programming that is sweeping the country due to a combination of media consolidation and declining economics for news media,” says Bill Kling, president of American Public Media, parent of Minnesota Public Radio.
Michael Skoler, Managing Director of News for Minnesota Public Radio, made these comments concerning PIJ at the Grantham Prize seminar (Transcribed by Steve Turgeon):
“We are in an incredibly changing media environment and to a large extent we are still talking about top down journalism. What we as reporters and editors need to do to engage those out there is to get them interested, to get them excited, to make it relevant. I think we all have great respect for our audience. I think, increasingly, we need to show that respect by providing a way for people to tell us. For us to connect on any issue is for us to understand what people care about in their day-to-day lives. Basing the way we cover stories on what we hear from them. What we have to think about, going forward, is viewing the audience as a real partner. One solution to finding the connection is to create mechanisms for people to tell us, on a very regular basis, what they are thinking about.
“In the current media landscape, trust is going to be the biggest distinguisher of our work. It is the connection we have with our audience that will determine if we continue to be important players in this new media—to continue to have the voice we have had in society. That voice, I think has been weakening. In whatever environment emerges, it’s that connection to audience that will support quality journalism. I think there is a sense of trust when we actually listen to the audience and incorporate what they say.”
To learn more about PIJ visit: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/publicinsightjournalism/
