Structure and moderation

A structure to empower participants

Putting together an advisory committee seems like a simple process, and it can be, but API took a nuanced approach in Pittsburgh. To ensure a diverse array of voices throughout the city, we selected 11 individuals representing nine different neighborhoods. In taking this approach, we adapted a model developed by Oaklandside, a hyperlocal newsroom that has used advisory committees for years.

Each monthly committee meeting consisted of a 30-minute shared meal in which community members and journalists could connect and build rapport. Afterwards, community members shared the news coverage they saw — and didn’t see — throughout the month, and anecdotes about things happening throughout the region. Members of the media responded directly to critiques and had a block of time to discuss the month’s coverage from their perspective. These discussion portions lasted an hour.

Keep these goals in mind when building a committee:

• Be mindful of the potential for burnout. The committee was asked to attend one meeting per month for six months, plus another session where they learned about the community engagement plans of the partner newsrooms.
• Adequately compensate participants. Each member received a $1,600 stipend. We also built time for community members and journalists to convene over a good meal before each monthly meeting.
• Think about the experience of community members. We brought aboard a community liaison to create an additional feedback loop. The liaison attended every meeting and spoke with committee members after and between meetings to get feedback about the process.

The result? Rather than a committee that simply listened to the concerns of newsrooms, we created one that empowered community members to influence and impact the work of these newsrooms. In other words, we created an advisory committee and allowed them to advise.

Moderate to highlight community voices

Deborah M. Todd, a journalist and president of the Pittsburgh Black Media Federation, said she did not know what she was getting into when she agreed to moderate the committee but quickly learned how uncomfortable and personal the discussions could get — and how dedicated the committee was to making the process work. She shares these takeaways from her time moderating the committee:

• Enable the community members, not the newsrooms, to steer discussion topics. Before the 2024 election, an attempt was made to focus a meeting on politics. The advisory committee quickly shut this conversation down — and instead, the members expressed concerns about coverage of the mental health and well-being of Pittsburgh residents.
• Newsrooms should explain their editorial workflow to community members. Seeing results takes time, especially in a newsroom with fewer resources, and hearing about a story doesn’t immediately lead to coverage. This can lead to frustration, so it’s important to be transparent about the process and the difficulties newsrooms can have prioritizing stories.
• Time management is key. After dinner, there was roughly an hour for each advisory board member and media organization to have the floor. In a room of 15-20 people, this required paying attention to the clock and the flexibility to recognize when an important discussion that shouldn’t be interrupted was happening.
• New goals and agendas will come up, so make time for unexpected conversations. In addition to the discussions, we wanted to walk away with tangible assets in the form of a local media contact list and a list of community sources for media. In the final two months of the cohort, we decided to host a community listening session exploring the topic of mental health in the region.

“This formula, if applied with the right people, can work in any community,” Todd wrote in her essay. “And every community has the right people. It’s only a matter of finding them, bringing them together and creating conversations that lead to actionable changes.”

Letrell Crittenden and Deborah M. Todd contributed to this installment.