Service-learning public interest journalism.
Speaking truth to power. Impacting policy. Inspiring citizens to take action. Training the next generation of multimedia journalists.
HAITI GRASSROOTS WATCH
Following the devastating 2010 earthquake, I oversaw a new collaboration of two Haitian non-profit media organizations and the country's women's community radio animators network. We created Haiti Grassroots Watch, an investigative journalism consortium modeled on some of the best of the university-based "new newsrooms" in the U.S.
Working together, community radio volunteers, young Haitian reporters and two dozen of the top students from the country's first-ever university-level investigative journalism course produced 39 reports over 40 months. Text, audio and video in Haitian Creole, French, English and Spanish were seen, heard and read throughout Haiti and around the world, exposing wasteful housing construction, shocking camp conditions, "sex-for-work," secretive and sometimes-illegal mining, scams, ruses, and just plain bad policy. The team also coordinated dozens of screenings and discussions around the country.
Check out the investigations here. Learn more here and here [pdf] and here. Or watch this 2011 "annual report video." Did the stories have impact? They changed some hiring practices, inspired countless follow-up articles and documentaries, and the "Gold Rush!" dossier brought scrutiny to rampant mining exploration. As of March 2020, the English-language version of the gold video had been played over 85,000 times (and the Creole, almost 79,000). Check out the English version:
May 31, 2012 - There's a gold rush in Haiti. But a new investigation from Haiti Grassroots Watch reveals that the public has been mislead by reports in the media and by certain statements from mining companies and Haitiian government officials.
“The project is innovative and courageous. It ought to teach U.S. media what a real “follow-up” story looks like and teach community media projects here how to build a news organization from the rubble–literally...
While academics and journalists try long experiments with “new media models,” people in Haiti are simply making it happen, and quickly. This is what local public-interest driven media looks like. ”
SOMERVILLE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS
In 2013, Somerville Community Access TV (SCATV) decided the city needed more local news coverage that focused on the city's diverse communities and rapid gentrification. I launched Somerville Neighborhood News and ran it until May 2015.
Incorporating best practices from Haiti Grassroots Watch and from other cablecast newscasts around New England, the bimonthly show soon evolved into a multimedia website with video segments and text stories that were often carried in print and online editions of weeklies like the Somerville Journal and Somerville Times, with an audio version on Boston Free Radio.
Students from Somerville High School and from the greater Boston area's top journalism undergraduate and graduate programs worked with community members and staff to producing dozens of stories, paying particular attention paid to human rights, social justice and the city's diverse populations.
“Under the enthusiastic guidance of award-winning reporter/producer Jane Regan, SNN has aired stories on such topics as the availability of jobs at Assembly Row, the impact of gentrification on the fabric of our city, economic inequality, the lack of affordable housing and the plight of undocumented students, as well as reports on local film festivals and cultural fairs.”
B.U./CAMBRIDGE COLLABORATION
More recently (2017-2019 academic years), I built a partnership between my Boston University “beat reporting” class and the Cambridge Chronicle.
Each semester the weekly would run about 20-25 student-reported public interest stories, some on the front page. B.U. students exposed the lack of diversity in the Fire Department, highlighted the work of local non-profits, looked at the projected impacts of climate change on the city and worked every Election Day. They also covered local politics, schools, universities, the lack of affordable housing, transportation and homelessness. (The experience inspired other professors to partner with other outlets.)
Check out some of the stories here (Oct. 2017-July 2019).