Andrea Wenzel is an assistant professor at Temple University, fellow with Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, and co-founder of the Germantown Info Hub. She is the author of Community-Centered Journalism: Engaging People, Exploring Solutions, and Building Trust (University of Illinois Press, 2020). Her research focuses on initiatives to create more connected and equitable communities and newsrooms through community-centered and antiracist journalism. Prior to completing her PhD at USC Annenberg, she spent 15 years as a radio producer at WBEZ and WAMU, and a trainer and project manager for organizations such as BBC Media Action and Internews in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Iraq, and Ghana. Supervisors: Sandra Ball-Rokeach
The concluding chapter summarizes the argument for a community-centered process model that uses c... more The concluding chapter summarizes the argument for a community-centered process model that uses communication infrastructure theory to assess local storytelling networks and design interventions that aim to strengthen them. It reviews key questions about how local journalism can share power with and offer more wholistic narratives of stigmatized communities—and how this will require journalists to challenge some norms and practices. The chapter maps out steps in a process, including assessing information needs, convening a participatory design process, and piloting, monitoring, and evaluating interventions. It reflects on how intervention may work to address barriers to trust including perceived negative/inaccurate coverage, polarization, and objectivity norms that create distance between journalists and communities. Finally, it reviews how outcomes of this process will vary depending on local place and power dynamics, and how these cases add to communication infrastructure theory b...
Chapter One introduces an example of how communication infrastructure theory can be used to diagn... more Chapter One introduces an example of how communication infrastructure theory can be used to diagnose the communication health of communities and to design an intervention in response. It also explores the role of place in influencing relationships between actors in local storytelling networks—in this case focusing on majority Black and Latinx communities in South Los Angeles that have historically been stigmatized by negative news representations. The chapter outlines a research-based intervention that sought to strengthen weak connections between local news outlets and community organizations by bringing representatives together to produce a series of solutions journalism stories about South LA. These stories were then discussed with South LA residents in a series of focus groups. While residents responded favorably to the solutions-orientation of stories, they wanted to see local media take steps to address power imbalances and to involve communities more in the process of making journalism.
In multiethnic communities, food pathways can bring diverse residents into contact in restaurants... more In multiethnic communities, food pathways can bring diverse residents into contact in restaurants and in the aisles of grocery stores—though the communication that ensues does not always lead to greater understanding. Drawing from communication infrastructure theory, as well as intergroup contact and racial formation concepts, this article explores the relationship between food practices and how residents perceive their demographically changing communities. The article synthesizes a survey, field observations, and interviews with Asian, Latino, and White residents in a majority-minority city in Los Angeles County. Findings suggest that, although discursive networks within commercial food spaces are often ethnically bounded, communication in and about food spaces can act as a barometer of attitudes toward community change and intergroup relations.
Chapter Five situates the cases explored in this book within the larger landscape of engaged jour... more Chapter Five situates the cases explored in this book within the larger landscape of engaged journalism and solutions journalism in North America. It offers several mini-cases of solutions journalism and relational engagement that are centered not on newsrooms, but on communities and their needs. Focusing on the perspective of journalists, it features organizations including Capital Public Radio’s Story Circles, Center for Investigative Reporting, City Bureau, The Discourse, Free Press News Voices, Listening Post Collective, Outlier Media, Resolve Philadelphia, and Your Voice Ohio. The cases look at how these groups assess local information needs, use community organizing strategies to build relationships with community stakeholders, and grapple with challenges around funding and evaluation. Through interviews with leaders of these groups, the cases illustrate how these community-centered projects are pushing boundaries of journalism, and how norms and practices must be reimagined f...
In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has ... more In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has amplified an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the current moment of partisan division and demographic change. This study uses a communication ecology framework to examine how audiences grapple with pervasive ambiguity as they navigate their media and communication resources. Drawing from a series of 13 focus groups looking at news and social media habits in four U.S. regions, this study explores how residents are adapting their media and communication practices within their communication ecologies. It reveals how residents cycle between verifying information and disengaging from news to relieve stress, and it explores possible pathways to resolve ambiguity.
This introductory chapter offers an overview of key concepts and the book’s argument for a model ... more This introductory chapter offers an overview of key concepts and the book’s argument for a model of community-centered journalism to build trust between local news media and communities. It outlines how the book conceptualizes trust (looking at factors including perceived representation and motives), solutions journalism (reporting focused on responses to social problems), and engaged journalism (practices that involve community members in journalistic production). It then sets out key questions tackled by other portions of the book, including how place-based interventions using engaged and solutions journalism practices can present boundary challenges to journalism norms and influence what communication infrastructure theory (CIT) calls community “storytelling networks”—the links between residents, community groups, and local media which can be indicators of an area’s communication health and predictors of civic participation. Finally, it offers an outline of the chapters that follow.
As the United States grapples with increasingly partisan media and affective polarization, how do... more As the United States grapples with increasingly partisan media and affective polarization, how do cultural and political fault lines filter into residents’ daily lives, and how are they navigated? This case study of a region within a red state uses a communication infrastructure theory framework to examine how this political context affects residents’ relationships with media and their larger community storytelling networks. Through a series of focus groups, story diaries, and interviews with residents and local journalists, it explores whether shared communication resources remain and the potential for creating spaces for dialogue across political and demographic divides. Findings illustrate how residents negotiate interpersonal relationships, community spaces, and local and national media in a polarized communication context. The study highlights the importance of recognizing place-based identities and media representations to facilitate trust in journalism and points to possible ...
In many communities across the United States, substantive local news is a rare commodity. For are... more In many communities across the United States, substantive local news is a rare commodity. For areas long stigmatized and associated with high levels of violence, crime, and poverty, negative reporting may be the only local news available. Drawing from communication infrastructure theory and literature on local news audiences and civic journalism, this study explores how a local solutions journalism project is received by members of an underrepresented and stigmatized community. Solutions journalism stories focus on responses to social problems, usually exploring problem-solving efforts that have the potential to be scaled. This case examines how participants in six focus groups with 48 African-American and Latino South Los Angeles residents responded to solutions-oriented stories produced by a local media project. Study findings illustrate how residents navigate and critically interpret local media coverage, and how their response to ‘solutions journalism’ is largely positive but te...
ABSTRACT On the screens of televisions and computers in their California homes, the women of the ... more ABSTRACT On the screens of televisions and computers in their California homes, the women of the Egyptian Sisters Club (ESC) have witnessed the unfolding of political crisis and the unravelling of certainty about the meaning of ‘home’. Drawing from concepts of diaspora and social support, the study explores how the ESC, an informal group of young Egyptian mothers living in Southern California, maintains cohesion in a time of conflict in their home country, and hostility towards visibly Muslim women in their host country. This qualitative study draws from participant observation, interviews and focus groups over a period of 9 months in 2014. Findings, largely expressed in members’ own words, suggest that despite heterogeneous perspectives and subjective motives, participants largely negotiate a prioritization of cultural values over political differences. This case offers insights into how local context and life stages influence how diaspora members adapt to contentious home and host country politics.
This study looks at Report for America’s (RFA) efforts to strengthen the capacity of local news a... more This study looks at Report for America’s (RFA) efforts to strengthen the capacity of local news and increase trust from the perspective of two communities: a neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side and a rural county in Eastern Kentucky. Using a communication infrastructure theory framework, we examined RFA’s impact on the local news environment by following 28 residents through two rounds of focus groups, interviewing 15 journalists and RFA staff, and conducting content analysis of local stories from the Chicago Sun-Times and Lexington Herald-Leader. The study illustrates the influence of place and power dynamics in how residents navigate trustworthiness factors. We explore how RFA’s intervention in these two cases has gone some way to offer more complex narratives about communities, but due to a lack of feedback loops, has been limited in its ability to provide coverage for communities.
As media outlets around the globe seek to play a constructive role in responding to the COVID-19 ... more As media outlets around the globe seek to play a constructive role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study looks at how local news initiatives in the U.S. city of Philadelphia attempted to respond to the information needs of marginalized communities. Using a communication infrastructure framework, it draws from focus groups with residents of two neighborhoods—one majority Black and one majority Latinx—as well as participant observation of and interviews with journalists in a city-wide local journalism collaboration and two community-centered projects. Through this it explores how the crisis affects links between local media and organizations, and how having community-centered projects and infrastructure for collaboration facilitated the circulation of information within and between storytelling networks in the region.
In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has ... more In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has amplified an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the current moment of partisan division and demographic change. This study uses a communication ecology framework to examine how audiences grapple with pervasive ambiguity as they navigate their media and communication resources. Drawing from a series of 13 focus groups looking at news and social media habits in four U.S. regions, this study explores how residents are adapting their media and communication practices within their communication ecologies. It reveals how residents cycle between verifying information and disengaging from news to relieve stress, and it explores possible pathways to resolve ambiguity.
The concluding chapter summarizes the argument for a community-centered process model that uses c... more The concluding chapter summarizes the argument for a community-centered process model that uses communication infrastructure theory to assess local storytelling networks and design interventions that aim to strengthen them. It reviews key questions about how local journalism can share power with and offer more wholistic narratives of stigmatized communities—and how this will require journalists to challenge some norms and practices. The chapter maps out steps in a process, including assessing information needs, convening a participatory design process, and piloting, monitoring, and evaluating interventions. It reflects on how intervention may work to address barriers to trust including perceived negative/inaccurate coverage, polarization, and objectivity norms that create distance between journalists and communities. Finally, it reviews how outcomes of this process will vary depending on local place and power dynamics, and how these cases add to communication infrastructure theory b...
Chapter One introduces an example of how communication infrastructure theory can be used to diagn... more Chapter One introduces an example of how communication infrastructure theory can be used to diagnose the communication health of communities and to design an intervention in response. It also explores the role of place in influencing relationships between actors in local storytelling networks—in this case focusing on majority Black and Latinx communities in South Los Angeles that have historically been stigmatized by negative news representations. The chapter outlines a research-based intervention that sought to strengthen weak connections between local news outlets and community organizations by bringing representatives together to produce a series of solutions journalism stories about South LA. These stories were then discussed with South LA residents in a series of focus groups. While residents responded favorably to the solutions-orientation of stories, they wanted to see local media take steps to address power imbalances and to involve communities more in the process of making journalism.
In multiethnic communities, food pathways can bring diverse residents into contact in restaurants... more In multiethnic communities, food pathways can bring diverse residents into contact in restaurants and in the aisles of grocery stores—though the communication that ensues does not always lead to greater understanding. Drawing from communication infrastructure theory, as well as intergroup contact and racial formation concepts, this article explores the relationship between food practices and how residents perceive their demographically changing communities. The article synthesizes a survey, field observations, and interviews with Asian, Latino, and White residents in a majority-minority city in Los Angeles County. Findings suggest that, although discursive networks within commercial food spaces are often ethnically bounded, communication in and about food spaces can act as a barometer of attitudes toward community change and intergroup relations.
Chapter Five situates the cases explored in this book within the larger landscape of engaged jour... more Chapter Five situates the cases explored in this book within the larger landscape of engaged journalism and solutions journalism in North America. It offers several mini-cases of solutions journalism and relational engagement that are centered not on newsrooms, but on communities and their needs. Focusing on the perspective of journalists, it features organizations including Capital Public Radio’s Story Circles, Center for Investigative Reporting, City Bureau, The Discourse, Free Press News Voices, Listening Post Collective, Outlier Media, Resolve Philadelphia, and Your Voice Ohio. The cases look at how these groups assess local information needs, use community organizing strategies to build relationships with community stakeholders, and grapple with challenges around funding and evaluation. Through interviews with leaders of these groups, the cases illustrate how these community-centered projects are pushing boundaries of journalism, and how norms and practices must be reimagined f...
In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has ... more In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has amplified an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the current moment of partisan division and demographic change. This study uses a communication ecology framework to examine how audiences grapple with pervasive ambiguity as they navigate their media and communication resources. Drawing from a series of 13 focus groups looking at news and social media habits in four U.S. regions, this study explores how residents are adapting their media and communication practices within their communication ecologies. It reveals how residents cycle between verifying information and disengaging from news to relieve stress, and it explores possible pathways to resolve ambiguity.
This introductory chapter offers an overview of key concepts and the book’s argument for a model ... more This introductory chapter offers an overview of key concepts and the book’s argument for a model of community-centered journalism to build trust between local news media and communities. It outlines how the book conceptualizes trust (looking at factors including perceived representation and motives), solutions journalism (reporting focused on responses to social problems), and engaged journalism (practices that involve community members in journalistic production). It then sets out key questions tackled by other portions of the book, including how place-based interventions using engaged and solutions journalism practices can present boundary challenges to journalism norms and influence what communication infrastructure theory (CIT) calls community “storytelling networks”—the links between residents, community groups, and local media which can be indicators of an area’s communication health and predictors of civic participation. Finally, it offers an outline of the chapters that follow.
As the United States grapples with increasingly partisan media and affective polarization, how do... more As the United States grapples with increasingly partisan media and affective polarization, how do cultural and political fault lines filter into residents’ daily lives, and how are they navigated? This case study of a region within a red state uses a communication infrastructure theory framework to examine how this political context affects residents’ relationships with media and their larger community storytelling networks. Through a series of focus groups, story diaries, and interviews with residents and local journalists, it explores whether shared communication resources remain and the potential for creating spaces for dialogue across political and demographic divides. Findings illustrate how residents negotiate interpersonal relationships, community spaces, and local and national media in a polarized communication context. The study highlights the importance of recognizing place-based identities and media representations to facilitate trust in journalism and points to possible ...
In many communities across the United States, substantive local news is a rare commodity. For are... more In many communities across the United States, substantive local news is a rare commodity. For areas long stigmatized and associated with high levels of violence, crime, and poverty, negative reporting may be the only local news available. Drawing from communication infrastructure theory and literature on local news audiences and civic journalism, this study explores how a local solutions journalism project is received by members of an underrepresented and stigmatized community. Solutions journalism stories focus on responses to social problems, usually exploring problem-solving efforts that have the potential to be scaled. This case examines how participants in six focus groups with 48 African-American and Latino South Los Angeles residents responded to solutions-oriented stories produced by a local media project. Study findings illustrate how residents navigate and critically interpret local media coverage, and how their response to ‘solutions journalism’ is largely positive but te...
ABSTRACT On the screens of televisions and computers in their California homes, the women of the ... more ABSTRACT On the screens of televisions and computers in their California homes, the women of the Egyptian Sisters Club (ESC) have witnessed the unfolding of political crisis and the unravelling of certainty about the meaning of ‘home’. Drawing from concepts of diaspora and social support, the study explores how the ESC, an informal group of young Egyptian mothers living in Southern California, maintains cohesion in a time of conflict in their home country, and hostility towards visibly Muslim women in their host country. This qualitative study draws from participant observation, interviews and focus groups over a period of 9 months in 2014. Findings, largely expressed in members’ own words, suggest that despite heterogeneous perspectives and subjective motives, participants largely negotiate a prioritization of cultural values over political differences. This case offers insights into how local context and life stages influence how diaspora members adapt to contentious home and host country politics.
This study looks at Report for America’s (RFA) efforts to strengthen the capacity of local news a... more This study looks at Report for America’s (RFA) efforts to strengthen the capacity of local news and increase trust from the perspective of two communities: a neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side and a rural county in Eastern Kentucky. Using a communication infrastructure theory framework, we examined RFA’s impact on the local news environment by following 28 residents through two rounds of focus groups, interviewing 15 journalists and RFA staff, and conducting content analysis of local stories from the Chicago Sun-Times and Lexington Herald-Leader. The study illustrates the influence of place and power dynamics in how residents navigate trustworthiness factors. We explore how RFA’s intervention in these two cases has gone some way to offer more complex narratives about communities, but due to a lack of feedback loops, has been limited in its ability to provide coverage for communities.
As media outlets around the globe seek to play a constructive role in responding to the COVID-19 ... more As media outlets around the globe seek to play a constructive role in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study looks at how local news initiatives in the U.S. city of Philadelphia attempted to respond to the information needs of marginalized communities. Using a communication infrastructure framework, it draws from focus groups with residents of two neighborhoods—one majority Black and one majority Latinx—as well as participant observation of and interviews with journalists in a city-wide local journalism collaboration and two community-centered projects. Through this it explores how the crisis affects links between local media and organizations, and how having community-centered projects and infrastructure for collaboration facilitated the circulation of information within and between storytelling networks in the region.
In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has ... more In the United States, media that is politically fragmented, distrusted, or labeled as “fake” has amplified an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the current moment of partisan division and demographic change. This study uses a communication ecology framework to examine how audiences grapple with pervasive ambiguity as they navigate their media and communication resources. Drawing from a series of 13 focus groups looking at news and social media habits in four U.S. regions, this study explores how residents are adapting their media and communication practices within their communication ecologies. It reveals how residents cycle between verifying information and disengaging from news to relieve stress, and it explores possible pathways to resolve ambiguity.
Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available at http://ijoc.org. Garrett M. Br... more Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available at http://ijoc.org. Garrett M. Broad, More Than Just Food: Food Justice and Community Change, Oakland, CA:
Contemporary journalism faces a crisis of trust that threatens the institution and may imperil de... more Contemporary journalism faces a crisis of trust that threatens the institution and may imperil democracy itself. Critics and experts see a renewed commitment to local journalism as one solution. But a lasting restoration of public trust requires a different kind of local journalism than is often imagined, one that engages with and shares power among all sectors of a community.
Andrea Wenzel models new practices of community-centered journalism that build trust across boundaries of politics, race, and class, and prioritize solutions while engaging the full range of local stakeholders. Informed by case studies from rural, suburban, and urban settings, Wenzel's blueprint reshapes journalism norms and creates vigorous storytelling networks between all parts of a community. Envisioning a portable, rather than scalable, process, Wenzel proposes a community-centered journalism that, once implemented, will strengthen lines of local communication, reinvigorate civic participation, and forge a trusting partnership between media and the people they cover.
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Andrea Wenzel models new practices of community-centered journalism that build trust across boundaries of politics, race, and class, and prioritize solutions while engaging the full range of local stakeholders. Informed by case studies from rural, suburban, and urban settings, Wenzel's blueprint reshapes journalism norms and creates vigorous storytelling networks between all parts of a community. Envisioning a portable, rather than scalable, process, Wenzel proposes a community-centered journalism that, once implemented, will strengthen lines of local communication, reinvigorate civic participation, and forge a trusting partnership between media and the people they cover.