Get ready for the second round of The Open Newsroom, THE CITY’s year-long project with Brooklyn Public Library to explore how to make local news more collaborative.
All told, about 100 people attended the initial batch of meeting, held last month at libraries in Red Hook, Bedford-Stuyvesant and East New York.
We got the word out using everything from social media to flyering. People arrived eager to talk about their community’s strengths and challenges.
In Red Hook, one attendee asked: “What am I doing wrong that I can’t afford the neighborhood I grew up in?”
At the Marcy library In Bed-Stuy, several people told us block associations were integral to their communities.
And at the New Lots library in East New York, we learned about a group of neighbors who have banded together to keep their streets clean — by sweeping them with brooms.
We broke up the attendees into groups and put a facilitator at each table. We posed questions: What’s your favorite thing about your community? What does good news mean to you? What’s newsworthy in your neighborhood? We wrote down every answer, thought or idea on butcher paper taped to each table.
We put it all into spreadsheets. We’ve read, labeled and organized all the notes and feedback surveys to help set the table for the next round of meetings.
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In Round 2, we’ll focus on some of the main issues we discussed at previous meetings (affordability, housing, access to food) — and map out how newsrooms and community members can move information from those who have it to those who need it. And, yes, we’ll actually make a map.
Here’s a sneak peek into our first question: What do you need to know to live in your neighborhood?
Sign up! Bring a friend. And, once again, we’ll have snacks.
Here’s the meeting lineup:
• Marcy: Tuesday, August 6, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sign up here or text “Marcy” to (646) 374-2576.
• Red Hook: Thursday, August 8, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sign up here or text “Red Hook” to (646) 374-2576.
• New Lots: Tuesday, August 13, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sign up here or text “New Lots” to (646) 374-2576.
We plan to expand The Open Newsroom throughout the city. If you can’t make any of the above sessions, but would like to work with us, please fill out this form below and we’ll be in touch.
If you have any other thoughts or ideas about the Open Newsroom — whether it be moderating a meeting, resources to share, tips for outreach — you can leave feedback in this form as well.