A new guide for telling powerful and inclusive stories with underserved communities

Across Europe, news organisations are being challenged to be more representative of their users and, in particular, underserved communities too often left out of coverage.

There are difficult questions for journalists to answer: How do we report stories in a way that is representative and inclusive of our community? How are we challenging stereotypes that have persisted until now? What’s the best way to make use of the lived experience, access and insight available? And, crucially, how do our reporting processes support the emergence of new narratives?

It is in this context that we’re delighted to publish our latest Accelerator resource in collaboration with On Our Radar, a storytelling and communications agency for underserved communities based in the UK.

The creation of the guide has been supported by the Engaged Journalism Accelerator and is a culmination of On Our Radar's work over five years supporting underserved communities and helping marginalised groups shape their own narratives.

Inside the guide you will find:

• The ‘five C s' methodology – conviction, capacity, confidence, connectivity, craft – that On Our Radar practises to do a more engaged journalism
• Concrete tools and tactics to help overcome common barriers to participation
• Practical case studies to enable you to co-produce a project from beginning to end or set up your own reporters’ network

The toolkit, which can also be found on On Our Radar's site, includes examples from their own work, including storytelling workshops with 80 garment workers in Bangladesh, audio diaries by people with dementia in the UK and the development of a network of Sierra Leoneans reporting on the impact of Ebola. All three have been published or broadcast in national media and won numerous industry awards.

You can sign up here to receive information about free webinars about the toolkit and the chance to receive a free, one-on-one diagnostic workshop with On Our Radar’s team.

Read other resources published by the Engaged Journalism Accelerator:

• A playbook for news organisations looking to engage members and drive revenue growth (Krautreporter)
• A useful guide for news organisations assessing revenue-making opportunities in small teams (Bureau Local)
• Stronger journalism through shared power (Engaged Journalism Accelerator)
• What would journalism look like if it was generated from within communities? (Engaged Journalism Accelerator)