Monopoly houses
Credit: Image by woodleywonderworks on Flickr. Some rights reserved

Engagement has become somewhat of a buzzword in journalism, but its value cannot be looked down on in an age where many have lost their trust in the media and don't see their community or interests served by their local news titles.

To see how journalism with community engagement at its core could be produced, sixteen journalism students from University of Oregon undertook a storytelling project designed to produce "journalism as a conversation", committing to the process over six months.

The lessons they learned can be found in this article on MediaShift, written by Todd Milbourn, instructor of journalism at the University of Oregon, and Andrew DeVigal, head of the Agora Journalism Center.

Some of the key takeaways from the project include starting up with a focus on listening to your community and flexibility – the story you thought you were going to get might not be as relevant to the community as some other ideas you pick up after your first in-depth conversation with your audience in the patch!

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