Citizens Journalism Workshop

The Iowa Center for Public Affairs Journalism, which runs the news site, IowaWatch.org, hosted the workshop on April 24, 2019, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Iowa City, Iowa, Public Library to inform the public about behind-the-scenes practices used to tell a truthful news story but, as important, engage the public in determining stories local news media could cover. The workshop, “Creative Minds: Journalism Workshop Engaging Citizens In the News,” was an audience engagement project that fostered two-way communication between participating newsrooms and 15 local residents. It was a pilot project to determine public interest in such a workshop and whether or not the center could pull it off. The answer to both was: yes.