Local Digital Social Networks

We invest in the physical infrastructure of our communities without hesitation. When roads and bridges crumble, we rebuild them. After harsh winters, we fill potholes. There’s no debate—it’s just what needs to be done.

It’s time we apply that same mindset to our social infrastructure. Just as we repair the roads that connect our neighborhoods and co... See more

If you're interested in revitalizing a community, understand that it can't be done from the outside. America is almost 250 years old, and she has never seen a revitalization program that worked from the outside-in. If you want to revitalize a community, it cannot be done without getting your hands dirty. You’ve got to engage the affected population... See more

The first thing is shrinking the service area. We serve four neighborhoods — about 8,000 to 12,000 people. If you have too big of a service area, you can't cover it effectively. We ensure that everybody gets access. Access is a big deal. We're aggressively pursuing clients, versus waiting for them to come to us. Some people don't know how to ask fo... See more

This new form of local journalism has some common characteristics:

• Provides news and information through accessible products that address information gaps.


• Organizes and trains community members, building inclusive pipelines for involvement in journalism and media as civic engagement.


• Relies on stakeholder engagement and audience feedback loops to lea

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UW Madison professor of journalism, Sue Robinson, recently publishedHow Journalists Engage: A Theory of Trust Building, Identities, and Care . In it, she names the new roles and skill sets that those working in journalism need to invest in so that information can be used and trusted. They include:

• Relationship Builder


• Community Collaborator


• Community

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Note that I’m casting the goal in terms of the number of local reporters, not the number of local news outlets, hours of coverage or number of articles. We shouldn’t care about “saving newspapers,” or any particular delivery system. New models of news distribution will continue to be invented — along with compelling new storytelling techniques — an... See more