We Built A Community-Led Journalism Project During A Pandemic. Here’s What We Learned

During the pandemic, the Decibel news team at Austin PBS decided to work under a new mission of being a community-led reporting project, which promises to listen first before any reporting happens.

What does it take to listen, really listen, to what your community is saying? Go beyond the generic plea to “send us your story ideas” and understand the steps that it takes for in-depth community listening and reporting. The Decibel news team at Austin PBS shifted its editorial strategy away from livestreaming and host-driven content and transformed into a project driven by a purpose: to amplify the diverse and often underrepresented voices in Central Texas through in-depth storytelling and listening. Hear why the Decibel team decided to make this shift, how they build reporting around community engagement and outreach in a virtual workspace, how the team uses Google Data Studio to track source diversity, what is working so far and where the team continues to adjust.

Suggested Speaker(s)

  • Samantha Guzman (@GuzmanSam)
    Executive Editor, Austin PBS
  • Blair Waltman-Alexin (@where_is_blair)
    Reporter/Videographer, Austin PBS