New VNN program to train underserved community members in citizen journalism

(NATIONAL) Verified News Network (VNN) has been committed to building up a network of quality collaborators since its inception in 2018.

The free VNN app, a social media platform designed exclusively for verified news, consists of five collaborator categories: Journalist, Affiliate, Official, Expert, and Citizen. 

Though this app was originally designed with the Citizen collaborator in mind, it has been the most underutilized category as far as content contribution is concerned. 

“I settled into the assumption that citizens just weren’t interested in producing journalism for VNN,” VNN Director and Lead Journalist Brittany Harlow said. “But over the last couple of years, community members have come forward saying how they would like to be a reliable source of news and information for their own communities. And it is a lack of journalism education and confidence that is holding them back.” 

Harlow said VNN hopes to change that with the help of a $15,000 grant from the Oklahoma Media Center. The grant is one of a dozen being awarded to Oklahoma news organizations as part of an Ecosystem Engagement Fund cohort developed to implement data-driven projects that will bolster the trust and sustainability of local news.

Read more about the cohort here.

VNN’s project will consist of creating and testing a Citizen Journalism Program developed specifically for underserved communities, which includes female, BIPOC, LGBTQ2S+, justice-involved, low-income and/or survivors of domestic violence. 

“We are currently working with other media professionals as well as community stakeholders to develop a citizen journalism curriculum that incorporates journalism best practices but also specifically serves these underserved communities,” Harlow said. “The six-week paid training course will commence in early 2024.” 

Residents in the Tulsa area who are interested in becoming citizen journalists will be able to sign up in December. Those who are selected will be notified by the end of the year. 

After completing the course, the class of citizen journalists will also be paid to publish stories on the VNN app. 

Harlow said she hopes to see other news organizations offer this training in the future and develop similar relationships with their own underserved communities. 

Apply to the first 2024 Citizen Journalism Project cohort here.