Public Engagement: Questions & Answers

Although the movement to engage citizens in public life is growing, a lot of folks – citizens, leaders and policy-makers included– don’t “get” public engagement and how it works to foster a more meaningful and participatory democratic process. Journalists, in particular, often tend to express skepticism and uncertainty about how public engagement efforts advance community participation in the decision-making process.

As the field continues to burgeon, many journalists will increasingly witness and cover public engagement activities in their work. While this is good news for the movement, most journalists still need schooling on what public engagement is and what it is not. This in turn will help them ask the right questions of those who run public dialogues and deliver the full story to media consumers.

To help journalists learn the fundamentals of this growing democratic process, Michael Remaley, Public Agenda's Director of Communications, has authored a handy piece titled "Fifteen Things Every Journalist Should Know about Public Engagement." Featured in the summer edition of the National Civic Review, this helpful guide breaks down the core principles of effective public engagement, debunks some popular misconceptions about the practice and discusses the role of journalists in facilitating understanding of the field.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

"There are serious and sophisticated methods of really connecting citizens to issues, and journalists can play a crucial role in examining this growing democratic movement by asking the right questions and focusing more squarely on public engagement practices."

The Public Engagement Primer is also a valuable resource for those trying to better understand what public engagement is all about, and for those trying to explain it.