Community Asset Mapping 101

Basic tips on developing a low-cost community asset map.

In many communities, people see reporting by the remaining news outlets to be about, rather than for them. This is especially common in historically marginalized communities where people may feel socially distant from journalists even if they are in relatively close geographic proximity. And this is why community asset mapping is an important piece of infrastructure for news organizations as they work to improve their DEIB practices.

In this session, Letrell Crittenden, Ph.D. will walk participants through the creation of a community asset map. Participants will learn:

• The difference between sources and assets
• The benefits of asset-mapping before source-listing
• The types of community assets
• The strategy and execution of creating an asset map
  

Participants will leave the session with a starting point for the asset map and the next steps to complete it and then continue to iterate upon it. Any journalist, no matter their specialty in the newsroom, can benefit from this foundational skill.

About the New England Equity Reporting Fellowship:
The program was created in 2021 by the Granite State News Collaborative, New England News Collaborative, New England Newspaper & Press Association, and Solutions Journalism Network, in partnership with the Endowment for Health. The program aims to improve news reporting and coverage in New England on issues of race and identity and to create an inclusive newsroom culture for the participating journalists and newsrooms.