Covering Communities |
William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications |
The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation |
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation |
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Know Your Community

Do you have a deep understanding of your community?
The ability to produce journalism that is authentic and carries authority begins with community knowledge.

This knowledge goes far beyond having elected officials and prominent leaders as sources. You must understand the essence of your community – whether it’s a neighborhood, national organization or an online community.

Hanging out in a community, even in a range of different places, is not sufficient. You must make an intentional effort to learn specific things about the community.

The Harwood Institute has identified seven knowledge keys (printer friendly version - PDF) to understand a community. Each of these keys is like a piece of a puzzle. Put together the pieces below and you’ll see a full picture.

Learn more ways to understand your community by following these links:

Learn more about the seven knowledge keys by putting this puzzle together. Use your mouse to drag each piece to the appropriate location.
Know Your Community
Interactive Puzzle

Ask Yourself
What aspects of your community do you know best? Where do you have gaps in your knowledge?

Use it now: Explore your relationship with the community.

Layers and Leaders

Types of Community Leaders
To gain a deep understanding of community, journalists must learn from a wide range of leaders.  We often think of “leaders” as those who are elected or prominent. The Harwood Institute has identified four types of leaders that exist in most communities.  Each type plays a different role and offers journalists unique perspectives.

Use it now:  Find different leaders in your community.

Layers of Civic Life
It’s easy to focus our attention on the official sectors of the community (public meetings and professional settings) or the private aspects of people’s lives (individual people at home or random “people on the street”).

But these layers of civic life do not reflect accurately the range of voices and perspectives within the community. 

To gain a depth of knowledge, you must spend time in other layers of civic life.

Use it now: Tips for working in civic places.

Learn more about the layers of civic life under training.