On Collabs, Crowdsourcing, Responsiveness and Elevating Voices
A recap of our recent reporting plus bonus content.
Our word cloud here showcases some of our main drivers at Our Town Reno, from collaborating with others on specific projects, to building trust for local crowdsourcing, to quickly responding to those who reach out all the while elevating voices, both in terms of who contributes and those we highlight.
A partnership this past college semester had our coordinator assist with a COM 210 class at UNR with Dr. Amy Pason for university students not used to pursuing journalistic type work to contribute to our channels with topics they themselves chose to pursue.
The students came up with remarkable contributions, which were are starting to roll out this week, with posts, a photo series and an Ideas for Progress article on how to deal with blight and vacancies.
Two other themes they explored which we will soon publish concern the importance of third spaces and protecting the mental health of our first responders.
We’ve always wanted this initiative to inform but also to give students and others interested in journalism channels where their output would be seen, read and commented upon.
Our crowdsourcing also encompasses the many readers who now contribute photos, videos and information, such as when one was writing to us trapped inside her apartment due to a recent standoff with a threatening armed man, while others sent us photos and videos, from the heavy law enforcement deployment to the moment of arrest, as tensions were mounting in downtown Reno following an altercation with a film crew.
Through our independent volunteer efforts, without any external pressures, or budgeting, we’re proud to say we’ve reached 35k followers on our affiliated BiggestLittleStreets on Instagram, which is more than any other media channel in town, while our Facebook, with over 30k followers, has constructive conversations despite the occasional onslaught from far right digital militias, as does our ourtownreno subreddit.
We value all the thought through comments which offer information and insights, adding to the conversation about northern Nevada for an endeavor which was always meant to be for locals by locals.
Our Recent Reporting
Could Blight and Vacancy Taxes on Stalling Property Owners Benefit Downtown Reno?
Is it Raining Even More on Reno's Democracy?
GSR Owner Looking for TIF Assistance for New Arena Project Has Flooded Reno Council Members with Donations
Which Workers and Organizations Are Facing Federal Cuts at the Local Reno Level?
