There has never been a greater need for underserved communities—including immigrants, low-income Americans, and rural communities—to have access to accurate, timely, and actionable information about the issues most present in their day-to-day lives. At the same time, the information ecosystem has never been more polluted and fragmented, preventing it from adequately serving immigrant communities. The rise of AI, rampant mis- and disinformation especially designed to target vulnerable communities, and a perilous economy for journalism have all contributed to a decline of trusted resources.

In short, media organizations are struggling to break through in an overcrowded and chaotic information environment, and communities aren’t getting the information they need.

There is an approach to address this that may seem obvious but is surprisingly under-adopted by media organizations: shaping editorial, content, product, and audience development strategy in direct response to asking communities their needs and what matters to them. At Documented—a New York-based, immigrant-facing nonprofit newsroom—we deliberately built a system from our founding to integrate community research and product development into how we function. We built a unique two-way communication publishing platform on WhatsApp and were one of the newsrooms to engage directly with users through WeChat and Next Door—all in response to community input. As a result, we have reached many people previously underserved with critical information.

While these ideas may seem most applicable to other newsrooms, there are lessons in our experience that apply to any organization looking to develop innovative ways to meet the information needs of their audiences, including community-based organizations, philanthropies, universities, and local governments.

What does this approach look like in practice?

Listening: Starting with Community Research to Serve Immigrant Communities

Reaching underserved communities is not about being on a particular platform. It’s not about a checklist. It’s about your community understanding that you understand them through a continuous process of listening and responding. Typically, media organizations take a top-down approach to deciding what news and information is worth reporting and sharing. Our team is deliberately countering that through a methodology that starts with deep listening, community research, and a guiding mantra of don’t assume, listen.

Much of this approach is inspired by the work of Listening Post Collective, a media support organization that mentors and grants to outlets serving communities with low civic engagement across Appalachia, Southwest border communities, Indigenous communities, and the Southeast. To serve immigrant communities and fill existing information inequities, they work with communities to understand where information is already being exchanged, what information people are missing, and how to design solutions that meet people where they are.

Read the full article about news access for immigrant communities by Nicolás Ríos at Stanford Social Innovation Review.