When a local newspaper wanted to connect with readers in more rural locations across the U.S. state of Texas, it came up with a novel approach: sending postcards.
The idea is one of several methods that Texas Tribune journalist Nic Garcia is using to reach a wider group of people.
Based in Dallas, Garcia is regions editor for the newspaper, which covers the Lone Star State and publishes newsletters, including the weekly The Y’all — about the “people, places and policies that define the state of Texas.”
Garcia says he is always looking for ways to reach audiences outside metro areas and to build relationships with communities.
His decision to send postcards promoting The Y’all to readers was rooted in his firm belief that the topics covered are what matter to those audiences.
He also wanted to foster trust — something that has become an issue in more remote areas, according to groups such as the Rural News Network.
The network, known as the RNN, works to amplify coverage and support media who report for communities dependent on industries like mining, logging or farming. In turn, the network leverages the expertise and reach of local reporters like Garcia and his team.
Such collaborations mean “more people will understand the realities of life in rural America today,” RNN editor Alana Rocha said in a statement when the network launched last year.
Most Americans tend to trust local news outlets a little bit more, said Garcia.
Alongside building trust, he wants to strengthen ties with the community, including by letting audiences participate in journalism.
The Texas Tribune hosts small gatherings where members of the community can ask questions directly to reporters.
“Not only are we allowing them an opportunity to check in with their lawmakers and their local elected officials or other newsmakers, but they can come in and they can tap you on the shoulder and say, ‘Hey, you know that story you wrote?’” Garcia said.
His regional reporting team nearly all come from the neighborhoods they cover and live alongside the people they report on. They can be seen in the grocery store, at the football game, the car wash.
“We're not just some faceless byline. We are living, breathing humans that our readers have access to one way or the other,” he said.
Another way Garcia and his team are trying to engage audiences is by listening.
“We're doing a lot of off-the-record focus groups this year trying to better understand what people want and need, not only from The Texas Tribune but their local elected officials and the stories that matter to them,” he said.
They also plan to expand the regions team into South Texas, alongside an internal group working on how to better strengthen ties to and their reporting for Latino and Hispanic communities. It is a population the Tribune finds often has low trust in news outlets and are prone to receiving mis and disinformation.
The RNN is also focused on countering disinformation in these groups. The newsrooms it collaborates with “seek to redefine current mainstream narratives” of the more than 46 million people who live in rural regions, according to its website.
The network features collaborative series, as well as daily stories pulled from 68 newsrooms in 46 states. And it hosts workshops and panels to help journalists with issues like countering mis and disinformation around elections.
“I think you're going to see more in the coming months,” Garcia said about the Tribune’s work with the network.
But whether it is countering disinformation or getting to the root of community issues, how journalists approach their coverage is important, he said.
In West Texas and the Permian Basin, for instance, the oil and gas industry is huge, which means coverage of climate change and environmental issues must be nuanced.
“One of the things you hear from folks in, you know, Odessa and Midland is, ‘You like the lights to be on, right? You like to move around to go visit grandma in a different state, or you like the clothes you wear, right?’” said Garcia.
Reporters can’t just go into these regions reporting that renewable energies are the most important policies when jobs are also on the line, he said. Reporters have a “responsibility” to bring context and nuance.
“The stories we choose to focus on and how we frame them — it could come down to a word in the headline that could make all of the difference between turning off a population,” he said.
After a harsh winter storm in 2021, Garcia said many politicians blamed renewable energy for the prolonged power outages.
“That wasn't the entire story,” he said.
The Texas Tribune brought attention to issues including power plants that went offline, an outdated grid system and other events that contributed to the disaster.
As more American communities lose access to dedicated local coverage, it becomes the responsibility of reporters like those at the Tribune to fill these “information gaps” in a way that is relatable to their audiences.
“They have their own way of life, and that doesn't mean it's wrong. It just means it's different,” said Garcia. “I think we as journalists really have to understand and appreciate and realize that.”
