KALW Is Building a Model for Youth Engagement and Civic Participation
KALW: Bay Area Public Media is in the midst of a grand — and thus far quite successful — experiment. The station is trying to build meaningful engagement with local youth around politics and civic life. And just like a good solutions story, KALW’s efforts to address the barriers between young people and healthy civic participation has insights from which others can learn.
Those lessons start with listening. KALW isn’t after stories. It’s engaging with youth to understand what information they want and need, along with how it can best be delivered. That includes hosting in-person gatherings and doing solutions journalism. And the entire project, “Power the Future,” starts from a premise that the journalism industry would be wise to adopt: Young people aren't apathetic, but rather full of passion and care they’re unsure how to channel.
KALW is doing this work, in part, with a grant from SJN’s Advancing Democracy Innovation Fund. Jaisal Noor, our democracy cohort manager, decided to dig deep into that work so that others can, in true SoJo spirit, learn from and adapt it. It's the kind of work many newsrooms want to do but aren’t quite sure how to begin. Fortunately, KALW’s process can jumpstart yours.
