Engaged Elections Training + Hearken’s EMS = Winning Combo

Back by popular demand, we’re offering the Engaged Elections cohort training. Thanks to generous support from the Knight Foundation, we’re able to subsidize a limited number of newsrooms in participating in this training for free as well as receive a free 6 month subscription to Hearken’s Engagement Management System (a $6,000 value).  

When: 

• This cohort runs over the course of 4 weeks with a 60-minute workshop held weekly on Tuesdays from 2-3pm EST, with light assignments in between
  • Dates: August 27, September 3, September 10, September 17, 2024

What: 

• Engaged Elections cohort participants will develop a winning strategy to surface and respond to their public’s critical information needs related to newsrooms’ election(s) of choice. 
• New Hearken tech customers will also receive Hearken’s Engagement Management System (EMS) to use for elections / political coverage from September 2024 – March 2025. The EMS can support your engagement strategies in myriad ways. (If you’re already an EMS partner, you will get the engaged elections training for free.) 

By the completion of the Engaged Elections cohort, active participants will:

• Learn how to implement a variety of engagement coverage strategies including The Citizens Agenda approach
• Develop a winning strategy for reaching beyond newsrooms’ immediate audiences 
• Identify audience information needs critical to the newsrooms’ election(s) of choice

Who: 

• Participants are newsrooms committed to better listening and engagement around political and elections coverage. 
• We require at least 2 people per newsroom to attend every workshop — this includes at least one decision-maker (editor or manager). Without decision-maker participation in programs like this, reporters can become frustrated as they take on the additional job of convincing colleagues and their bosses of the value of what they’ve learned, which takes away key energy and momentum in executing on the new approaches. 
• We invite you to extend the training invitation to anyone in your organization working on elections, politics or governance reporting. There is no cap on how many people can participate. We recommend they come for as many sessions as possible as there will not be time within workshops to catch them up on any learning they may have missed. 
• We expect participants to attend all live sessions and to submit corresponding assignments by the due date. 

Where: 

• All sessions are held virtually via Zoom. Workshops integrate a mix of content delivery by way of co-facilitator or guest speaker presentation, whole-group discussion and activity, and small-group discussion via breakout groups within the virtual space. We will record sessions for those who can’t make it, but the value is in participating synchronously. 

If you’re interested in participating, apply by August 13!

If you’re currently a Hearken EMS customer – use this link to apply for the Engaged Elections cohort. 

If you’re not a Hearken EMS customer – use this link to apply for the Engaged Elections cohort plus the EMS. 

There are limited slots available. The application should take no more than 15 minutes to complete. 

F.A.Q.

Access to the Knight Election Hub resources is restricted to U.S. news organizations that:
– Are substantially engaged in original news gathering. Projects must have a place-based focus.
– Are clearly non-partisan and do not regularly publish work that would cause a reasonable person to doubt their ability to report the news fairly.
– Have a published ethics policy.
– Are a nonprofit newsroom of any size or are a for-profit newsroom under $5m in revenue (parent company / subsidiaries included).

If you have additional questions, reach out to:  info@wearehearken.com