Community, Identity, News: Engaged Journalism for the Social Native

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Date

2023

Authors

Hutcherson, Ella

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

This thesis explores how engaged, or community-centered, journalism might best meet the needs of social natives, or people currently ages 18-24, who have different and more hyper-personalized engagement patterns than their generational predecessors. This is done in part in the form of a feature-length journalistic article supplemented by a focus group with students at the University of Oregon, with the intention of demonstrating how journalists can engage with a community in order to produce a work of journalism that is inclusive and reflective of those they seek to represent. Through discussing with these students topics of community and identity, what news means to them, and potential solutions, it is clear that these particular social natives seek a news landscape with more hopeful coverage, diversity in newsrooms and topics covered, and appreciation and respect demonstrated for all communities being reported on.

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Keywords

engaged journalism, social native, journalism, gen z, community

Citation