The second engaged journalism class to be offered at the School of Journalism and Communication is conducting an information needs assessment survey of the city of Eugene. The class is led by professor Andrew DeVigal and will be surveying the local community, with a focus on UO students, to better understand the media ecosystem in Eugene.

To explore the current media relationships in Eugene, the survey will ask the community how they access, share and find their information, and what media outlets are trusted and why.

The data accumulated from the surveys will provide valuable insight into the various media relationship in Eugene. As one of the local media outlets in Eugene, the Daily Emerald has decided to collaborate with the engaged journalism class.

“If you’ve ever felt frustrated that local media lacks coverage that is inclusive and doesn’t represent the community as a whole, participating in these types of surveys, community events and listening forums will open up a relationship that can be mutually beneficial,” DeVigal said.

The information needs survey is a great opportunity for the Emerald to learn more about its audience because the survey will include questions that ask community members about their direct relationship to the Daily Emerald.

The Emerald also hopes to obtain an accurate representation of how its audience perceives and engages with the Daily Emerald.

Once enough data has been accumulated through the surveys, the Emerald plans to publish the key findings and use that information to improve to the publication’s coverage and distribution. The engaged journalism class will be responsible for conducting the surveys, but The Emerald will help distribute the survey in order to encourage its audience to participate.

“As with any collaboration, I hope that the benefits are reciprocal,” DeVigal said. “The students in my Engaged Journalism will connect with community members to authentically hear about their community needs. And the staff of The Emerald will benefit from the information we gather across the info needs assessment surveys that will, in turn, help in their listening to and reporting on under-represented communities across campus.”

The Emerald prioritizes its community and takes advantage of any opportunity to know its audience better and this information needs survey will provide The Emerald with the perfect avenue to do exactly that. We encourage our audience to participate in the information needs survey, which is provided below.

Take the survey here: Information Needs Assessment Report for Eugene

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