JOUR 375: Local Journalism Blog Post

When it comes to local news reporting, one of the main things that it vital to success is relationships.

A journalist must earn the trust of their readers. When being a local journalist, that means a trust earned from the community. Without it, then it becomes very difficult for a journalist to do their job.

However, that does not mean relationships are either easy to build or are all of them successful. The ONA Panel noted how relationships take time to build.

This is true because trust is not earned overnight. Trust is earned as time goes on by actions rather than words. A journalist can earn this trust by simply being a straight shooter.

Later on in the panel, Ashley Alvarado talked about how relationship building gets easier and quicker as time goes on. Word of mouth is still a valid form of advertising, and this is a perfect example of that. A

As time goes on, the reputation a journalist gains will build. If the reputation is good, people will begin to trust a journalist quicker than when the journalist was fresh. If the reputation is bad, and it seems the journalist does not care about the person, it becomes a lot harder to build those vital relationships.

In order to build those relationships, Emily Brown discussed letting people be themselves. A journalist comes in to document a story, not to document what they want the story to be.

If people are allowed to be themselves, it allows for them to be more genuine with a journalist. The journalist will then get the more authentic version of the story.

However, Brown stressed the importance of being careful with relationships. Not everyone talks to a journalist to tell their story. Some people talk to a journalist to help themselves.

It can also be easy for a journalist to fall into personal bias into a story if they get too close in a bad way with an individual. This can especially be a problem in local journalism.

In local journalism, everybody tends to know everybody particularly in smaller communities. With a tiny community often comes more personable interactions.

This can help a journalist in terms of building relationships, but it also can hurt a journalist if they become too close to certain individuals. It is important for a journalist to maintain their objectivity.

Ultimately, relationships are vital to the success of a local journalist. With good relationships comes better stories, but a journalist must be careful regardless.