Community Advisory Board

"We need news to live our lives, to protect ourselves, bond with each other, identify friends and enemies. Journalism is simply the system societies generate to supply this news. That is why we care about the character of news and journalism we get: they influence the quality of our lives, our thoughts and our culture."
-- Bill Kovach, Tom Rosenstiel, "The Elements of Journalism"

If you care about the character of news and the journalism you get, here's an opportunity for you to do something about it. Join the Gazette Community Advisory Board, and you'll work directly with Gazette editor Jeff Thomas to improve the journalism in the Gazette and on gazette.com.

As a member, you'll explore:

• The perception of bias in news reporting and presentation
• The relevance of Gazette news coverage to the readership
• Completeness of Gazette coverage - Does The Gazette reflect the whole community, or just parts?
• Identification of areas for improvement - What do you want as a reader, but can't currently find in The Gazette?
• Citizen journalism - How can The Gazette help you make more community connections?

Ten applicants will be chosen to participate on each Community Advisory Board. Chosen applicants are expected to attend one meeting a month for three months. Each meeting will last approximately 1.5 hours. Refreshments will be provided.

The Fountain/Security/Widefield Advisory Board has been selected. Applications for future Community Advisory Boards will be accepted approximately two months before meetings are slated to begin. An official call for applicants will run in The Gazette, and a notice will be posted online at Gazette.com.

Community Advisory Board members will dig deep into the journalism of The Gazette, sharing their own research and developing their own recommendations to improve it. A summary of each advisory board's discussions and findings will be produced for The Gazette newsroom and may run in the paper.

For more information, call 719-476-1607.