Research that is public-facing, actionable, and oriented toward impact.
Research should be useful. Civic Information Observatory's work begins with the questions that funders, publishers, journalism support organizations, and communities need answered, and ends with findings they can act on. Every project is designed to inform a real decision.
Start from what exists. Most communities are not news deserts but information oceans, where people are awash in information of uneven quality. The Observatory's research takes stock of every trusted source in a community, from newsrooms to libraries, houses of worship, and neighborhood newsletters, while recognizing the distinct role journalists play as beacons pointing toward verified facts.
See communities as residents experience them. Local information landscapes are best understood from the ground up: by the places and topics that are covered in practice, at the scale where civic life happens, and with attention to who is left out.
Structure shapes access. Wealth, geography, and demographics have long determined who gets good local information. Research should make those patterns visible so that policy, philanthropy, and public funding can address them, instead of leaving the outcome to markets alone.
Collaboration is the way forward. Showing who is covering what, and where, helps newsrooms, civic organizations, and funders find one another and work together.
