Our Civic Media Design Process
Information Garden (n.)
In today’s news and information industry you hear people talk a lot about the local news crisis. Often, the conversation centers around “news deserts” — places where local newsrooms are dying, leaving their communities with just one newspaper or no newspaper at all.
Traditional newsrooms are part of a healthy information ecosystem. But, they’re only one part. For the United States to thrive as a true, equitable democracy, the goal can’t just be to save legacy news.
At the Listening Post Collective, we envision a world where every community is rooted in an information garden—where access to trusted, relevant information drives civic health and local power.
Our Civic Media Design process is what turns that vision into a reality.
Our Process
We partner with people and organizations to develop local news and information solutions that help communities thrive. Fostering equitable media leadership requires trust and time. We work to listen, build networks, understand information needs, and develop real solutions through collaboration.
The work can be challenging, but the process is straightforward: map, listen, seed, cultivate.
Contact us for more information.
Map
First, we identify where to work using our Civic Information Index to assess local civic health. This data-driven analysis helps pinpoint communities where investments in civic media could have the greatest impact. It serves as the foundation for deeper engagement and prioritization of our grants, tools, and resources.
Listen
Seed
Then, we support early-stage civic media projects inspired by community needs. Using insights from the Listen phase, LPC offers grants and guidance to local media makers, civic leaders, and organizers to launch initiatives that respond to information gaps and promote civic health.
Cultivate
To close things out, we provide long-term support through coaching, organizational capacity assessments, and community initiatives. LPC works alongside partners to strengthen their sustainability through one-on-one mentorship, capacity-building, peer learning, and strategic investments in civic education, media literacy, and community outreach.
Check out how this work culminated in our 3-year Partnership Program
Civic Media Design: Inland Empire Case Study
The Inland Empire, or “IE,” is a region in Southern California, directly east of Los Angeles. Encompassing Riverside and San Bernardino counties, it’s centered around the cities of Riverside and San Bernardino. The region boasts a culturally diverse population with a range of socio-economic backgrounds and faces unique challenges concerning economic development, education, healthcare access, and civic participation. Learn more about how we applied our Civic Media Design process in the IE.
