Churchin’ Up: Connecting with Communities of Faith (Series Intro)

Church (or temple, or the mosque, etc.) is where many communities get their news and information. It’s more than that, though. For many communities, the church is the social and political heart of the community—and homilies cover more than just spiritual teaching.

Over the next few posts to this blog, I’ll examine how news orgs can build bridges with some key communities of faith. Tap into this rich conduit of information. If you’re having a hard time reaching certain communities of difference (race, ethnicity, immigrants, lower-income, etc.) directly, then—as Cab Calloway told Blues Brothers—you could use some churchin’ up!

Mosque Communicating: Connecting with Muslim Communities

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…

Bylines to Bollywood: Connecting with Hindu and Indian-American Communities

More than one billion people around the world come from India, and millions of Indians live abroad. Almost every US city and town includes Indian immigrants and their descendents. Many of these people practice Hinduism. According to the Hindu American Foundation, currently nearly 2 million Hindus live in the US (1.8 million Indian and 200,000 Indo-Caribbean). Additionally, there may be as many as 1 million practicing American Hindus not of Indian origin.

Despite this, Indian Americans are drastically underrepresented in US media, including news media. Also, most Americans know little or nothing about the Hindu faith that helps keep a large part of the diasporic Indian culture connected…

Online Video a Hit with Youth, African Americans

If you want to connect with younger audiences, as well as African Americans, you might try offering more online video. This option is supported by the latest research report from the Pew Research Center for The People and The Press…

Black Television News Channel: Coming in 2009

In early 2009, former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts plans to launch a 24-hour African American News Channel, called Black Television News Channel (BTN). Comcast and DishNet have already pledged support. “There’s a whole lot more to the African American community than entertainment and sports,” says Watts.

The Buddha and Your News

There’s a misconception about Buddhists that they just hang out meditating and ignore current events or popular culture. In fact, Buddhism is about balance and focus rather than 24/7 navel-gazing. It’s also about social and political action—which, in a time of war and multiple social and economic crises, may make Buddhists an especially interesting and important community to connect with.

Connecting with Jewish Communities (Gefilte Fish not Required)

Learn how to engage community from the masters of this art.

People Count: Diversity Trumps Demographics in Election Coverage

Ultimately, elections are about numbers: Whoever gets the most votes (popular or Electoral College) wins. Therefore, it’s tempting for news organizations to view communities primarily as demographic blocks—essentially, as numbers.

The classic form for this type of election story is: “Here’s how Latinos are polling on issue X or candidate Y,” plus perhaps a few example anecdotes to make the story superficially appear to be more about people than numbers. This approach fits well with the too-easy horserace style of election coverage.

For instance, check out these recent stories…