This week’s action: Identify actionable solutions from non-news experts’ insights.
At the American Press Institute, we often encourage news leaders to consider their role in helping communities share their diverse perspectives, life experiences and lessons to confront and solve common problems. We also see how that approach benefits the news industry itself — we can learn from organizations outside of traditional media that are taking different approaches to working in the same ecosystems and facing the same challenges.
This week we’re sharing insights from thought leaders connected to API Local News Summits, where alongside news leaders they explored ideas on embracing local identity and history to create value, the conditions for local civic discourse across generations, and how to collaborate with community members to steward a shared local information ecosystem together.
Look for transferable ideas and skills that can help you think about your local news ecosystem — and use this as a blueprint for engaging with experts in your community.
Clay Routledge, executive vice president and COO of the Human Flourishing Lab at Archbridge Institute, on why young people are drawn to nostalgia:
While individuals of all ages tend to feel nostalgic about their own past, younger generations are highly nostalgic for eras that predate their lifetimes.
- They report being drawn to media, styles, hobbies and traditions originating from these historical periods and express strong beliefs that new technologies should incorporate ideas and design elements from these eras.
- Their engagement with the historical past reflects an active and creative endeavor to develop their own sense of self, cultivate cultural literacy, seek out shared stories and intergenerational bonds, and explore innovative ways to improve life in the present and build a better future.
- When used appropriately, nostalgia can inspire community engagement, intergenerational dialogue and forward-thinking approaches to local storytelling that resonate deeply with younger audiences seeking both historical understanding and future-oriented hope.
What this looks like in action: How local media can harness the history trend
Linda Appel Lipsius, founder of the Urban Garden Project, on creating safe, apolitical community spaces for people to convene:
Three critical elements of inclusion and belonging are being invited, being needed and having a structured way to engage.
- In order for someone to “join,” there are a million social barriers to overcome. The chances of rejection — one of the most basic human fears — are significantly reduced with an invitation.
- Being needed involves not just entering a space or a group, but truly being part of it — feeling that if you didn’t show up, things might fall apart, or at least not thrive, in the way they would when you’re there.
- A structured way to engage dictates expectations, group norms, roles, responsibilities and purpose, reducing the possibility of misunderstanding and misaligned expectations.
What this looks like in action: Local news can provide a ‘third space’ — and it makes financial sense.
Dillon St. Bernard, founder of Team DSB, on co-creating with young people:
The not-so-secret way to engage young people in conversations about history, culture or civic life is to co-create — share the platform. However, getting to a point of thoughtful co-creation takes:
- Re-shaping when, where and how we get feedback and perspective from young people. When young people are included only after a product is finished, it sends the message that their lived experiences and creative instincts are an afterthought.
- Following curiosity. Young people — like everyone else — want to be asked what they care about. They’re often disproportionately impacted by key issues, but youth voices are often left out of the conversation.
- Building thoughtful relationships. The success of intergenerational working relationships relies on a willingness to connect as people — recognizing that each age group brings its own strengths, challenges and aspirations to the table.
What this looks like in action: How to facilitate successful multi-generational collaboration
Corey Chao, managing director of the Public Spaces Incubator, on revisiting comments sections in the age of social media:
As we’ve co-created better conversational tools, we’ve learned two key shifts are needed.
- The basic comment box at the bottom of the page is ubiquitous, yet deeply limits what’s possible. New tools and approaches to facilitation lead to productive public conversation, belonging and trust.
- Move beyond passive moderation to stewardship, where journalists actively facilitate healthy discussion that fuels future reporting. Conversation is a part of a content strategy, and part of making our work relevant.
What this looks like in action: How a university partnership helps The Coloradoan build opinion content and audience engagement
Dig deeper
- How people outside of journalism approach engaging and working with people of all ages
- Outside perspectives on how local media can build trust or belonging in physical or digital spaces
- Recommendations to enhance how news leaders and non-news experts inform each other’s work
