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!

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…