On Thursday, February 4, I had the pleasure of presenting at the 6th Annual St. Louis River Summit with my UMD colleague, John Hatcher. Hosted at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, John and I talked about our research-in-progress on journalism and community engagement in the Twin Ports.

We’re approaching our research using a methodology used often in public health research called “community engagement strategies.” As a way to study area journalists, we’re hoping to produce some new and useful research on what projects like “One River, Many Stories” can to do help promote collaboration and build community among area media and citizen storytellers.

Jennifer Moore presenting research-in-progress about journalism and collaboration at the 6th Annual St. Louis River Summit on the campus of UW-Superior. Photo by John Hatcher

For me, this project has been such a great way to get to know the Twin Ports region and the people who make it a great place to live. While I’ve only lived in Duluth since August, I was asked to get involved in the planning of “One River, Many Stories” several months before I arrived. I’m so glad that I did. This work has grown into something more than I could have ever imagined.

I’m grateful to the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation, our funder for this project. Their staff have been a great partner in our efforts to build community through media collaboration.

I will be excited to see what our area’s journalists and citizen storytellers report on in the coming months, and I’m enthusiastic about the research ahead on this media collaboration experiment.

Find the PowerPoint that John and I used for our presentation below.

If you have any questions about our research, feel free to email or Tweet at me.

“One River, Many Stories” is a journalism, media and storytelling project and resource hub for journalists, educators, and citizens to foster deeper conversations about our community. This University of Minnesota Duluth Journalism program project is funded in part by the Knight Foundation Fund of the Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation.

St. Louis River, April 2016: See what happens when journalists and storytellers in one region turn their attention to one topic.

For more information, or to be added to our mailing list, please contact Project Coordinator Judy Budreau at onerivermanystories@gmail.com.