» This story marks the launch of a new Houston Chronicle initiative.
Houston is a sprawling city with an even larger metropolitan area — one whose story the Chronicle tries to tell every day. But there are huge swaths and pockets of this region that often go uncovered. We want to do something about this gap.
Today we’re announcing a new effort: We are going to listen more, and more intently, via the Houston Chronicle Listening Project.
This effort is part of the American Press Institute’s initiative to train newsrooms across the country in developing a culture of listening. Journalists are always asking questions, but often those queries are transactional, for a specific story, and then that’s it.
Chronicle staffers recently underwent some bestpractices training from Stephanie Carson, our API-sponsored adviser. Carson works for Carolina Public Press, a nonprofit news organization that works on in-depth and investigative projects via listening projects. She held group and individual sessions to help prepare the Chronicle newsroom to listen in new ways.
On Nov. 12, we held our first roundtable discussion at Interfaith Ministries. Chronicle writers, photographers and editors were there, but they didn’t insert themselves in the discussion. We were there to listen to the stories of new refugees and established immigrants who have resettled in Houston. Thirteen countries were represented
around the room. By listening we learned a lot we didn’t know.
That roundtable was just the start. We begin with refugee resettlement as a focus. Later this year, we’ll lean into Third Ward as well Houstonians who live in apartments. We eventually plan to hold a community reception for residents to meet staff and senior leadership, to talk about their experience engaging with the Chronicle.
It’s a privilege to serve this community, and we are committed to being your voice. Over the next year,
the Houston Chronicle will send journalists to Houston’s neighborhoods to meet people where they are, listen to them and tell their stories. We’re planning additional community listening sessions where you do the talking and we listen, and forums on specific topics. There is even a podcast focused on you, Houston and what makes Houston the city it is. Yes, we’ll produce content to share with you, but we hope that material will help Houston learn more about the people of the city we all call home.
Look for the Listening Project logo online and in the newspaper for stories, photos and videos that are generated by this initiative.
If you have a community or personal story you’d like to share, let us know at Community Listening Project or at houstonchronicle.com/listeningproject.
We want to listen to you.