How to Build Communities Around Your Investigations

Investigations can bring changes to the legal system, public sentiment, and institutional power structures. But oftentimes, the very people who are at the center of investigations and who have the most to lose by being exposed in journalists’ reporting are the ones who may never see the work and in the worst-case scenario, be adversely impacted by the exposure and attention that investigations can bring. 

These issues persist as the public further loses trust in media organizations. But a growing number of journalists are digging deeper, not just to write about underserved and marginalized communities, but to also serve them vital and necessary information that is helpful to them.

From conducting needs assessments and polls with imprisoned people or undocumented immigrants, to packaging stories in different formats that can reach communities in more effective ways, engagement reporters and other practitioners are finding new and creative ways to bake trust-building and service-oriented journalism into their work. 

Hear from editors and reporters at the workshop "How To Build Communities Around Your Investigations," at the 2024 iMEdD International Journalism Forum in Greece, on how they build trust with communities and how they make sure they package their investigations into formats that reach their subjects.

Speakers

• Jonatan Rodríguez, the Pulitzer Center's Outreach program manager for Latin America and IEO digital campaigns
• Max Siegelbaum, co-founder of and special projects editor for Documented, a nonprofit newsroom that reports on immigrant communities in New York City
• Nicole Lewis, engagement editor for The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization that reports on the U.S. criminal justice system
• Moderator: Lam Thuy Vo, journalist and a Pulitzer Center 2022 AI Accountability Fellow