Deep Participation in Underserved Communities

A Quantitative Analysis of Hearken’s Model for Engagement Journalism

Bibliographic Data

ID12908952
AuthorsJennifer Brannock Cox (Salisbury University), Mark Poepsel (0000-0002-2153-332X, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, corresponding author)
Year2020
Volume14
Issue5
Pages537-555
Publication date2020-02-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism Practice (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1751-2786 • E-ISSN: 1751-2794
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17512786.2020.1731321
OpenAlexW3007549695
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited32

Hearken is a proprietary news engagement platform growing in popularity. Under the Hearken approach, audience members are invited to participate in the newsmaking process. Hearken strives to assist news organizations in providing local and hyperlocal content that meets audience needs and demands while preserving elements of the journalist’s role as gatekeeper. Hearken has also worked to help news organizations reach underrepresented populations with mixed results per its own anecdotal analyses. This study employs a quantitative content analysis comparing one year’s worth of coverage at four different local NPR affiliates in the United States to provide a breakdown of Hearken content versus traditional reporter-driven content in the following four categories: emphasis on hyperlocal coverage, story topic prevalence within local and hyperlocal coverage, emphasis on coverage of underrepresented communities, and story topic prevalence within coverage of underrepresented communities. Findings reveal listener-driven Hearken content favors hyperlocal news on lifestyle issues while reporter-driven stories emphasize state-level governance and politics as well as local crime. These indicate a stark contrast between the content audiences want and that which journalists tend to report. The nuanced normative implications, possibilities and limitations of Hearken’s model of “deep participation” are addressed in some detail

Citizen journalism · Community engagement · Journalism · Media studies · Political science · Public relations · Sociology · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Law · Media Studies and Communication · Social Media and Politics

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