NEWS RELEASE
OU’s Gaylord College, Oklahoma Watch Collaborate on Video Project Focusing on Low-Income Community Challenges
“Talk With Us: Poverty in Oklahoma City Neighborhoods” enabled by Online News Association grant
OKLAHOMA CITY – Students at the University of Oklahoma’s Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and staff at nonprofit news organization Oklahoma Watch are collaborating on a mobile-video project entitled, “Talk With Us: Poverty in Oklahoma City Neighborhoods.”
This collaboration will create a virtual dialog between low-income residents and public leaders about a wide range of issues facing some of the city’s struggling areas.
The project is made possible by a grant from the Online News Association Challenge Fund for Innovation in Journalism Education. The grant is one of 12 awarded nationwide.
OU students and Oklahoma Watch reporters have been shooting short videos using mobile devices in northeast, south and west Oklahoma City, asking low-income residents to describe pressing concerns in their neighborhoods and lives. The videos are then shown to government officials or community leaders and their responses are videotaped.
Dozens of videos have been captured so far, with new students contributing to the project this spring. About 50 virtual conversations will be posted on a website in February, along with data and multimedia. More videos will be collected throughout the year. Also, public forums on the issues raised are planned for March.
“We are excited about the opportunity for Gaylord College students to participate in a project that engages them with real-world issues that matter to Oklahoma City residents,” said David Craig, the college’s associate dean. “Doing these videos is exposing them to a broader, more diverse community than they find on campus.”
David Fritze, executive editor of Oklahoma Watch, said, “The project uses simple mobile video to bring views of low-income residents directly and compellingly to state and local leaders. It will provide a deeper understanding of the day-to-day challenges that people face in low-income communities.”
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