“We have now good individuals right here, and if we’ve assist highlighting our good individuals, we will join extra, collaborate extra, be extra inventive, and resist more durable,” stated Berwyn resident Isabel Gonzalez Smith.
On a breezy November Saturday afternoon, members of the Prepare dinner County suburban metropolis, had the chance to satisfy with native journalists and be heard on the Liberty Cultural Heart in Berwyn, IL.
The listening session was a part of the Berwyn Collaborative: Understanding Neighborhood Wants, an engagement initiative led by News Ambassadors (NA) in partnership with Cicero Independiente, WBEZ, and Illinois Latino News (ILLN).
The challenge goals to actively interact residents via surveys and occasions reasonably than assuming what they want or need from native information protection.
“We don’t see the general public as an viewers,” stated Hugo Balta, Writer of ILLN, who attended the occasion. “They’re collaborators who assist form our information protection. This challenge assists us in higher understanding what points matter most to the impassioned individuals of Berwyn.”
Irene Romulo is the Growth and Neighborhood Engagement Coordinator for Cicero Independiente, and has performed a pivotal function in serving to the group navigate the cultural panorama of Berwyn. Romulo hopes this challenge will help improve Cicero Independiente’s protection of the world.
“We wish our information and knowledge to satisfy the wants of Berwyn residents, we need to attain them in ways in which work finest for them,” stated Romulo. “To have the ability to do that, we have to take the time to know the wants of the individuals who dwell there.”
The Berwyn Collaborative seeks to know the wants of Berwyn residents via group engagement by canvassing, sending out native information surveys, and internet hosting the group listening session. As soon as the wants of the group are higher understood, the collaborative will produce solutions-based tales in order that group wants will be met with options.
The challenge’s philosophy is based on the concepts of Resolution Journalism (SJ). As a substitute of merely highlighting one thing going unsuitable, the emphasis in SJ reporting is on how individuals are transferring ahead, increase, or responding to a problem.
Options Journalism will be loosely outlined as “a particular reporting technique to uplift options and customary floor, not targeted on issues, however on what individuals can do about them,” stated Shia Levitt, director of Information Ambassadors. “After which bringing native communities instruments that may remedy these issues.”
Shia Levitt and the NA group work with younger journalists to foster tales formed in options journalism or a depolarization reporting technique so as to enhance protection of contentious points. Venture director Shia Levitt and the Information Ambassadors group have introduced options journalism or depolarization reporting strategies to about 100 scholar journalists in seven states, impacting greater than a half dozen communities throughout the nation. The tales usually are not meant to be ‘hero worship’ feel-good items.
“As a substitute, options journalism tales are rigorous evidenced-based tales on how a response to an issue is working, or actually what methods it’s working and what methods it isn’t,” stated Levitt. Tales have to incorporate “what are the restrictions of a response somebody is making an attempt, and what are the insights and classes realized that may assist others making an attempt to unravel that drawback in one other place.”
Liberty Cultural Heart on 6445 twenty seventh Pl, Berwyn, IL.
Berwyn residents introduced an unlimited vary of feelings and opinions to the listening session. A very recurring theme was a frustration in direction of what they understand to be a normalized tradition of corruption amongst sure teams of regionally elected officers. Members additionally identified that there’s a lack of transparency in terms of authorities spending in Berwyn, and that the group wants a extra detailed rationalization of how cash is allotted by town council, and the way constructing codes and rules are determined upon.
“The overwhelming majority [of Berwyn residents] are working class of us, they usually don’t have time, and I converse with them personally, to go to town council conferences or the varsity board conferences,” stated Tomasa Ambriz, Berwyn Township Trustee. “Having somebody which you can belief to offer you ample and correct info on the finish of these conferences, it’s very important.”
Many attendees burdened that the dearth of accessible and clear details about metropolis governance is what permits for corruption and mismanagement to happen.
One other widespread theme was a robust group connection between the residents of Berwyn. One listening session group brainstormed methods during which the group can use grass roots efforts to deal with consultant challenges.
“So we’ve to watch out about balancing new concepts with outdated concepts,” stated Nester Zaualo, a social work scholar and Berwyn resident. “And provides area for brand new voices and new concepts and a few change, and I believe that we’ve to additionally assist one another in our particular person roles [in that process].”
Zaulao additionally emphasised the significance of getting a extra detailed statistical framework about consultant points in Berwyn in order that, primarily based on these statistics, organizers can set particular brief and long run targets.
“You’re speaking about advocacy, you’re speaking about change,” stated Zaualo. “You must have the numbers to again it up, it’s a must to have the information. If not, there’s solely a lot that’s going to occur along with your feelings and fervour, as a result of I’ve my very own feelings and passions. What’s going to chop via all that’s information.”
The occasion culminated after months of canvassing and surveying the Chicago metropolitan group.
Santiago Posada-Jaramillo (left, blue t-shirt) and Calvin Krippner (proper, white sweater) ask residents to fill out information surveys at Ebenezer Church in Berwyn, IL.
Preliminary survey outcomes present residents need extra bilingual sources, clear details about the elevated prices of residing in Berwyn, and extra police accountability. Residents additionally stated they needed extra clear information protection, together with constructive information about their group.
The following chapter within the reporting challenge will proceed within the new yr when reporters will use on-the-ground canvassing, surveying, and listening session suggestions to pitch and produce answer journalism-based tales in regards to the Berwyn group.
The Berwyn Collaborative: Understanding Neighborhood Wants challenge is made attainable due to the beneficiant assist of The Listening Post Collective.
Illinois Latino Information (ILLN) might be recruiting fellows for the second leg of the Berwyn Collaborative: Understanding Neighborhood Wants challenge within the 2025 spring semester. If you happen to’re a scholar (2-4+ yr school/college) in good standing, and are excited by studying extra about collaborating within the initiative, please e-mail us at info@latinonewsnetwork.com.
