2. Photo by Ian Britton, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.
If we do not change our direction,
we’ll likely end up where we’re headed.
3. Photo by Wesley Fryer, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License.
Where is your station headed?
4. Setting the stage…
1. Stuff you already know.
2. Reagan (and a promise).
3. An opportunity.
6. The World is Changing
1. Demographics
2. Collaboration
3. Technology
7. Changing Demographics
Pew:
Blacks and Latinos are more
likely to own a mobile
phone than whites.
Minority internet users more
likely to use digital
technologies to keep up
with what’s happening in
their neighborhoods.
Twitter use on cell phone:
• White (non-Hispanic): 7%
• Black (non-Hispanic): 17%
• Hispanic: 12%
9. Technology
Photo by Tony Buser, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
10. Promise: the future will not look
like the present or the past.
Photo by crises_crs, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.
11. Reagan
Are you
better off
than you
were four
years ago?
Photo by Edalisse Hirst, available under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
12. Setting the stage…
1. Stuff you already know: The World is
changing.
2. Reagan: Are you better off than four
years ago?
Promise: The future will be different from the past
and present.
3. An opportunity: How will you
respond?
24. Engagement
= understanding community needs and
aspirations.
= cultivating authentic relationships with
citizens, civic leaders, potential donors.
= authentic relationships built on
trust, shared experiences and mutual
goals.
25. Outreach Engagement
• Extension of an • Integrated with an
organization’s core organization’s culture,
service (value-added) strategy and practices
• One to many • Builds a pathway for
dialogue
• Talking to people • Listening to people
• Approaches audience • Works with the
with answers community to identify
solutions.
26. If the focus is on you,
your station or what you
do, it’s probably promotion.
(and that’s important, too)
27. Engaging requires
a completely different
orientation from broadcasting
or outreach or promotion.
AND
Engaging informs
all of those activities.
28. “If you’re truly listening to the
community, you’ll learn
something you didn’t expect,
and you’ll have to rethink your
position or approach.”
- Mikel Ellcessor, WDET, Detroit
30. Cultivate an Engagement Ethos
Deeply engaged organizations have community
interactions
that are authentic, meaningful and responsive to community
needs
37. To Do List:
1. LISTEN to your community.
2. Focus on community outcomes.
3. Reflect on & answer three questions:
1. Role: What is our role in this community?
2. Relevance: How is our role relevant to
this community today? In 3 years? 5?
3. Return: Will our role be relevant enough
to generate a return that sustains it?
38. Photo by d.billy, available under a Creative Commons Attribution License.
What made you successful in the past is not
what will make you successful in the future.
CULTIVATE AN ENGAGEMENT ETHOSCommunity Engagement means: working collaboratively to discover, understand, and address community needs and aspirations. Deeply engaged organizations tend to act in certain ways. They have interactions that are authentic, meaningful and responsive to their community's needs.
Organizations that Shift Their Thinking:Turn outward and reorient themselves toward the community.Are open to change.Innovate and experiment with new ways of working internally and externally.Focus on community needs rather than the organization.
Organizations that Start Listening:Learn how to listen appreciatively without an agenda.Keep the focus on the community rather than the organization.Bring together leaders and diverse cross sections of the community for productive dialogue.Commit to continually discovering and understanding the community'sneeds and aspirations.
Organizations that Know Their Value:Review their mission and vision relative to the organization's strategic role in the community.Intentionally leverage their assets to best serve the community.Identify the unique value they offer as a partner, community stakeholder and media outlet.Define success for the organization in terms of shared benefit to the community that can be measured, demonstrated, improved and sustained.Constantly gather information and feedback about how they can make their workmore relevant and effective.
Organizations that Build Relationships:Understand that authentic relationships are rooted in trust and shared experiences that build social capital.Tap into community networks by attending community functions and creating a consistent, in-person presence beyond promoting the organization.Constantly engage other organizations and individuals in conversations.Stretch their comfort zone by pursuing opportunities to understand the community through the lens of diverse citizens and organizations.
Organizations that Collaborate:Seek partners whose strengths complement their own.Build collaborations through established relationships that have grown over time.Identify and respect mutual organizational needs, goals and aspirations.Integrate their work with others rather than working in parallel.Clearly articulate and safeguard their editorial integrity.Actively seek opportunities to sustain the work over time.
