Total Community Coverage
Posts tagged with: Media
August 04, 2008
Nearly three million people are incarcerated in US prisons, according to according to the US Dept. of Justice (as of June 2007). The vast majority of them won’t be in jail forever—which is only one reason why news organizations might consider prisoners as an important community with news and media needs.
US prison inmates overlap with a number of other communities—by race, gender, economic status, and religion, to name a few. The Sentencing Project (an excellent resource) estimates that, “One of every three black males born today can expect to go to prison if current trends continue,” and that women are also a growing demographic in the prison system. Worse, a staggering “two-thirds of women in state prisons are mothers of a minor child.”
US prison inmates have a great deal of access to daytime television, but internet access is very limited for felons. Some much-needed reforms are slowly occurring there, however. For example, this year’s Allied Media Conference (for “for alternative media makers and committed social justice activists”) featured a workshop on media access for prisoners. (More about why news orgs should check out this conference.)
The blog The Invisibility of Women Prisoners’ Resistance covered several ideas from this workshop for facilitating prisoners’ media access, including:
- Making room in publications for prisoners’ voices and stories
- Blogs and MySpace pages that publish letters from prisoners
- Call-in radio shows where prisoners and others can leave voicemail messages. For instance, the Appalshop radio project Holler to the Hood features messages from loved ones incarcerated listeners, because there is no way to phone a prison inmate directly.
Beyond facilitating much-needed reforms in the American judicial system and important avenues of communication, prisoners are avid consumers of media, and they need it badly. The publisher’s description of Library Services to the Incarcerated, by Sheila Clark and Erica MacCreaigh says: “Inmates, as much or more than the general population, need information and library services. They represent one of the most challenging and most grateful populations [librarians] can work with.” That logic of challenge and loyalty might well apply to news organizations, too. This book offers dozens of practical ideas for getting key media and information to prison populations.
Even the One Laptop Per Child program got the memo about the importance of reaching prison populations and how much they stand to benefit. According to a Feb. 3 OLPC news release: “It’s not only children that need an education. There is a whole other constituency that needs access to education and the skills that XO exposure can bring: prisoners.”
OLPC makes the point that US prisoners rarely have sufficient access to retraining and education that can make re-offending less appealing. But even worse, currently they have very little access to the kinds of networking opportunities by which much of the free population finds work. OLPC wants to provide prisoners with positive networking opportunities—in addition to reading, math, and life skills that a person re-integrating with society might need.
...Meanwhile, in several US prisons, prisoners have been creating their own news media for a long time. The 2001 book Jailhouse Journalism, by James Morris, explores the history of newspapers and magazines managed and published by US prisoners over more than a century.
By providing media for prisoners, your news organization could do far more than tap a “captive audience.” Publishing news and information for prison populations could help address the thorny effects of crime on communities. That might earn loyalty and respect from not only current and former inmates, but also their families, employers, and society at large. What are you doing to reach prison populations in the communities you serve?
By Meg Spohn, 08/04/08 at 1:01 pm
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August 14, 2008
Despite tireless efforts to break stereotypes about the religion of Islam and Muslim culture, misinformation and prejudice still abound in the US. Consequently (and understandably), some Muslims are wary of US mainstream media—and some news organizations may be similarly wary, too.
That’s why right now it’s especially important for news organizations to foster constructive relationships with local Muslim communities…
Fortunately, many Muslims (especially community leaders) want to connect with news organizations. They welcome sincere interest and accurate reporting.
The Muslim community is large (over a sixth of the global population) and growing quickly. This faith comprises people of all ethnic groups, income brackets, and education levels. With widespread prejudice still common in the US, many Muslims are private about their faith. Therefore chances are that your local Muslim community is significantly larger than you might guess.
Your local mosque or Muslim community center is probably the best first point of contact. Most major US cities have mosques, and these tend to be very welcoming places to visit. Also, most larger colleges and universities have Muslim student centers or organizations.
NOTE: This post is part of a special series on how news orgs can connect with communities of difference through communities of faith.
See the series intro for links to the rest of this series. |
Muslim Bridges is an especially useful resource. It lists more than 1500 mosques in all 50 states. The site also offers an interesting section on the fact and fiction of “Islamaphobia.” Islam’s themes of equality and community make this religion especially appealing to minority groups, so this site also includes information targeted toward African-American and Latino adherents and potential adherents.
Many mosques also publish online newsletters and have successful community outreach programs. Consider The Mosque Foundation, with its strong community content and flashy Web design. In addition to outreach, community and school program listings, it also offers a concise primer on Islam.
True, some Muslim organizations have specific political agendas. However, these tend to resemble the Minaret of Freedom Institute’s agenda than the Taliban’s. The Minaret’s stated mission concerns education, free trade, and socioeconomic improvement. They feature articles and references about terrorism and jihad, civil liberties, freedom and democracy, women’s issues in Islam, and more.
There’s also a rich world of Muslim media. Ask local Muslims which sources of news, information, and entertainment they prefer. Check out whatever is popular locally, and keep an eye out for stories, angles, or perspectives that you might have been missing so far.
By Meg Spohn, 08/14/08 at 12:15 pm
Posted in Ideas
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September 01, 2008
Learn how to engage community from the masters of this art.
It shouldn’t be surprising that Jews—whose religion and culture are as shaped by diaspora as they are rooted in traditions from the Holy Land—are particularly adept at building and maintaining community through media, both globally and locally.
For a global view, check out the media links at the Jewish Daily Forward, and the long list of links to Jewish newspapers and magazines at JewishLink. And from Jerusalem, Chareidio offers a daily audio podcast of Jewish news that can even be delivered to mobile phones worldwide.
Locally, much Jewish media centers around Jewish community centers, like the Jewish Community Center in Manhattan—which offers local community news, programs registration, and more kinds of in-person and virtual connection.
If you’re building bridges with local Jewish communities, it helps to understand a bit about the various types of Judaism. Judaism101 and About.com: Judaism are good places to start. Amidst Judaism’s diversity, learning and communication are universally prized—which is why even the most conservative, private Jewish communities can be quite sophisticated in their use of online and mobile media.
For instance, many of the Chasidim (an insular branch of Orthodox Judaism which maintains a separate and highly traditional lifestyle) are very active online—especially through the organization Chabad, which hosts the lively ChabadTalk forum.
Houses of worship are the heart and soul of many Jewish communities. You can find local Orthodox synagogues or minyans (prayer groups) through Go Daven. Here’s a searchable database of Conservative synagogues (Note: “Conservative” and “Orthodox” Judaism are not the same: Both believe Jewish law is binding, but only Conservative Jews believe that law can change.)
NOTE: This post is part of a special series on how news orgs can connect with communities of difference through communities of faith.
See the series intro for links to the rest of this series. |
Most US Jews adhere to the Reform movement—which, while rooted in Jewish tradition, tends to have the most tolerance on social issues such as homosexuality and grants individuals the greatest autonomy to choose which Jewish laws and practices to follow. The Union for Reform Judaism has a directory of Reform congregations. Reconstructionist Jews take the view that the Jewish people (not God’s command) are what make Jewish laws and rituals sacred and meaningful. The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation offers a directory of congregations. Also, the progressive and increasingly popular Jewish Renewal movement holds many events nationwide.
But if you really want to connect with the Jewish community, dive into Jewish culture—especially the music (from traditional Klezmer to Orthodox rapper Matisyahu), food, slang and humor, holidays, and special ceremonies marking major life events. (Here’s a fascinating new trend in faith and digital media: Jewish funeral and bereavement services by phone—and now even by webcast, both live and archived.)
Perhaps the most compelling reason for news organizations to get more connected with the Jewish community is that these people really know how to “do” community—so they can offer many valuable lessons and examples on that front. Furthermore, Jewish communities tend to be very news conscious and media savvy, they have diverse and interesting perspectives, the conversation’s always good, and of course, that’s were the latkes are.
By Meg Spohn, 09/01/08 at 2:44 pm
Posted in Ideas
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October 13, 2008
The Nov. 1 application deadline for the Knight News Challenge is fast approaching. As a former News Challenge grantee, I’ve been mentoring several current applicants, helping them hone their proposals. Through this, I’ve discovered that the News Challenge Garage and the list of already-submitted public entries are a potential gold mine of talent and ideas for innovative projects that could serve all kinds of communities of difference…
The Knight News Challenge provides grants for experimental digital media projects that build or bind a sense of geographic community. Anyone, anywhere can apply. You don’t have to be “in the media business,” or part of a nonprofit or educational institution, or in the US to apply. This opens the doors for a level of creative thinking about media that goes beyond what I’ve seen elsewhere.
The Garage is an online community where News Challenge applicants can engage in public discussion about their proposals. This helps them sharpen their ideas, question their assumptions, and figure out the resources they’ll need before they finalize and submit their entires.
If you’re trying to figure out creative ways to use online or mobile media to connect with underserved communities in your coverage area, you really should take the time to peruse the Garage and the list of submitted entries. Even though only a few of these projects will receive News Challenge grants, many of them are very good ideas that could benefit your community and your news org. Also, many of the people behind these ideas might make good additions to your team as staff, freelancers, or consultants.
From a Total Community Coverage standpoint, here are a few News Challenge ideas that caught my eye:
- Rural Information, Practices, & Peer Learning Exchange (RIPPLE). This existing online network seeks funding to expand. They currently offers rural communities “virtual tools to share ideas, find answers, and connect with experts on hosted discussion forums.” They wants to expand their services to rural Hispanic and tribal communities. Whether or not RIPPLE gets a News Challenge grant, if you want to reach rural communities of difference, you might want to explore working with or learning from Ripple.
- Success Through Storytelling (STS). This project would establish “a central online hub for education news with five satellite sites operated by students attending four targeted under-served high schools and one school for adults in Stockton, CA. ...[We will] establish operating newsrooms in each school ...to cover the surrounding community, telling stories that are over-looked by traditional news organizations. Stockton is a widely diverse community with four main high schools with majority populations of Hispanic, Black and Filipino students.”
- CultureSurfer.com. Another existing site seeking to expand, CultureSurfer.com explores St. Louis arts and culture with the goal of enhancing cross-cultural appreciation and understanding. This includes highlighting “the talent within St. Louis’s untapped Asian, African, Bosnian, and Latin communities.”
- Mobile Crimesourcing in Mexico City. Sounds like something that might also apply to many urban inner cities in the US and elsewhere…
These are just a few intriguing projects that could serve communities of difference that I found in a quick search. Who might be hatching News Challenge ideas in your backyard—or that could benefit communities in your backyard? Might it make sense for your news org to get involved?
You can apply, too! Journalists and news organizations also can apply for News Challenge grants. If you have an idea that might meet their criteria, this could be an option to get the seed money needed to make it happen—no small matter in these tight economic times. I strongly recommend that you post your idea in the Garage today so you can benefit from the expertise of this community before finalizing your entry.
By Amy Gahran, 10/13/08 at 2:27 pm
Posted in Ideas
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