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Health & Wealth: Final Presentation. Garrett Bergquist Austin Fax. Project Overview. “The desk will produce on-air and online stories, news series, panel discussions and community outreach on the quality of life, economy and health of the mid-Missouri region.”
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Health & Wealth: Final Presentation Garrett Bergquist Austin Fax
Project Overview • “The desk will produce on-air and online stories, news series, panel discussions and community outreach on the quality of life, economy and health of the mid-Missouri region.” • “This project is similar to Harvest Public Media, a successful collaboration between newsrooms in the Midwest that received significant online and organizational support from a convergence capstone team last fall.”
Executive Summary • Helped launch KBIA “Health & Wealth Desk” web page and weekly newscast • Reported on initial stories • Launched @HealthWealthDSKTwitter feed • Compiled guidebook for future use, including source contact information
Audience Research • Talked to passersby in downtown Columbia, Jefferson City • Did not know at the time we were focusing on rural community • Very few people knew what we were talking about • Those who did said they wanted to see fewer talking heads, more policy analysis • Planned on posting video of these interviews, but not enough wanted to go on camera (sensitive subject?) • KBIA audience data doesn’t match rural demographics at all
Eric Mattingly • Columbia resident • “There’s no news analysis out there. It’s all sound bites and clips” • Feels better analysis could help people make more informed decisions
Mary Beth Doerr • Jefferson City • Wants to see more regular people, fewer talking heads • “There’s a lot of regular people with a lot of very good opinions”
Source Research • Talked to • Legislators • Healthcare professionals • Large and small business professionals • All said they wanted to see more policy, less politics
Sen. Maria Chapelle-Nadal • Health, Mental Health, Seniors and Families Cmte. • Says constituents usually never hear about issues unless media report extensively on them • “Many times, in the media, what we hear is the politics.”
Sen. Scott Rupp • Chairman, Small Business, Insurance and Industry Cmte. • Local media don’t dig deep enough on effects of businesses coming or leaving • “Yeah, they’re gonna create 249 jobs, but what does that mean to the average person?”
Bill Morrisey • President, Kilgore’s Pharmacy • Local media cover same companies over and over again • More comprehensive coverage could end up supporting local businesses
Setup • H&W page created during KBIA.org redesign • Fenston looking for “audio blog posts,” not necessarily standard packages • Twitter launched in early November • Facebook page considered, nixed
Reporting Work • Audrain Voters Plump for Public Health • Rural Post Offices Hoping for a Break • Pursued other stories, but these ideas ultimately fell through
Problems • Communication • Left out of loop, and we didn’t make strong enough effort to get in • Not told of rural focus until about a month into semester • Fenston: Not sure what his role, expectations should have been • Other reporting commitments • Newsy • KOMU • Proximity, availability of sources
Sustainability • Created guide for anyone working on H&W in future • Includes contacts, Twitter info, etc. • Possible partnership with Harvest Public Media?
What have we learned? • Very low awareness in these communities about issues • KBIA audience demographics don’t match communities at all • 67% of KBIA listeners have Bachelor’s or higher, versus 17% of Mexico • Twitter unlikely to be a major news source • Need more physical outreach, should have spent more time on this
Conclusions • Extremely worthwhile endeavor • Should be sole reporting commitment for future students (no KOMU, no Newsy) • Could be good for students in B3 or J4806 • Outreach could be good follow-on capstone project