Community Journalism

Community Journalism Project

Community Journalism is an effort by RTDNF to help news organizations better serve their communities. The program provides ideas and resources to help stations provide more in-depth coverage in cities and towns across the nation involving local television news, local public and commercial radio stations and, in some cases, local newspapers.

Community Journalism (also known as civic or public journalism) is a catch phrase for a range of news practices that are generally defined by a news organization's desire to be closer to its community's concerns and interests. It is difficult to define precisely what civic journalism is, as it has evolved into so many projects, practices and innovations since 1993.

The program's goal is to help stations establish a stronger dialogue with their community, ultimately producing a better news product. The benefits to stations are many: improved communication between the news organizations and the community; better coverage of issues important to its citizens; and greater appreciation by the community of how news organizations perform their jobs, leading to enhanced credibility of these news outlets.

Community Journalism is grounded in the concept that news organizations have a responsibility not just to report on local issues but, through their coverage, to actively facilitate their debate and resolution. Local news media can cover issues of local importance in ways that encourage active dialogue on the issues. Stations can derive great benefit from this enhanced coverage without giving up editorial control or becoming involved in the actual decision making.

This is journalism at the highest level: finding and raising issues of great interest to local viewers and listeners; developing stories and other creative coverage; and providing information and a catalyst for debate.