Community listening is at the heart of NC Local and a foundational part of how we work. From the mountains to the coast, we convene communities to learn more about issues that matter to them, how they get news and information and ways they want to engage with one another and with journalists.
Want to see a community listening session or event in your region? We’re looking for community stakeholders who want to partner.
Here’s how we listen to communities.
NC Local practices community listening in a number of ways. Get to know our approach.
Regional Ecosystem Ambassadors
We partner with local community connectors who help us better understand communities across North Carolina, strengthen relationships with community organizations, and identify opportunities for new products or services to fill gaps. Our Ecosystem Ambassadors build relationships with local news and community organizations, content creators, trusted messengers and other stakeholders. They also help us map how information flows—and where it doesn’t. Then, they partner with NC Local to help us plan listening sessions and convene communities in a number of ways.
Roundtable Discussions
Some listening events bring together people representing specific demographics, such as youth. NC Local partnered with Open Campus, Border Belt Independent, The News Reporter and WUNC on a roundtable gathering of youth in Bladen and Columbus counties. From these discussions, we gained direct insight into the experiences and priorities of young people in rural southeastern North Carolina, including their desire for more information about opportunities for growth and careers. The conversations led us to identify a need to report on opportunities and develop digital and in-person ways to get that information to young people.
Local listening sessions
Our listening sessions are produced in partnership with other newsrooms, community organizations and groups that help us convene and facilitate productive conversations about local issues. We conduct sessions in Spanish, too, and frequently work with our partner, Enlace Latino NC. A typical listening session involves facilitated small-group discussions, sharing out major details to a larger group and analyzing themes to help NC Local and newsroom partners understand the community’s perspectives. We then work on projects, services and sometimes even new products that respond to what we’ve heard.
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