I often blend my love for live theater with my passion for journalism to produce live journalism like events, community meetups, round-table discussions and listening sessions. I believe this is its own form of journalism and has so much potential. Here’s some of my work so far. For my work focused on diversity in journalism, please click here.
Event: Disability services in Arizona (2020)
My team held a virtual theater event where artists who have disabilities performed monologues — and attendees shared their own experiences with our reporting team during the event. I was key in inviting people to the event, designing accessibility efforts like live captioning and video captioning, and creating ways the audience could give us feedback. Part one is below, and part two is here.
Read more about this event on ProPublica’s website here.
“More than 130 people joined us July 8 to watch story performances from 13 artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We partnered with Detour Company Theatre, a group that works with people who have such disabilities. In 12 monologues workshopped with Detour director Becca Monteleone during a five-week storytelling course, artists told us about the challenges and rewards of advocating for themselves, about loneliness during COVID-19 and about loss. Many also spoke about how storytelling helped them find community. The final performance came from an artist who spells to communicate. His mom told him about the event and he wanted to join.”
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- Timestamp: Here’s the part during the event where we describe why we chose a storytelling event.
- Timestamp: Click here to see an example of the captioning, ASL interpretation and performance we used at the event.
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In a follow-up event after the stories published, I helped run another event to share these stories back with the community impacted by our work. I created the audio recordings and slideshows to share our stories (click here to see that segment). My team also designed a feedback session at the end that I helped build (see here for that segment). The full event recording is below.
Event: Housing in Connecticut (2019)
I brought influencers to a coffee shop to unpack segregation in Connecticut and discuss what stakeholders could do moving forward.
Read more from the Yale Daily News’ coverage of that event:
“‘Usually the people we are reporting on don’t often have the power to be people who [have] a seat at the table,’ Beena Raghavendran, a ProPublica engagement reporter who has worked with Thomas on the housing investigation, told the group at the beginning of the meeting. Raghavendran added that it was time to ‘turn these facts over to you as the experts in this community and as the people that are the stakeholders.’
…In the meet-up’s second portion, attendees split into small groups, ready to take the conversation into their own hands. They discussed what could be done to create change and increase access to affordable housing, from the statehouse to local planning and zoning boards. What could be done about the fact that people experiencing homelessness can face repercussions if they opt to go to a person in power for help — whether that person is a legislator or a reporter? Who else in the community might serve as resources for people searching for affordable housing? And how could local businesses be brought on board to support affordable housing in their neighborhoods?
At the end of the smaller discussions, the group reconvened to debrief, with some participants lingering in conversation long after Raghavendran called the event to a close.”
Event: California county jails listening session (2019)
I held a listening session in Alameda County, California — a public one at the Oakland Public Library and smaller, more informal ones with faith groups in the area. My reporting in California helped inform this reported guide to navigating the state’s county jails.
Event: Sexual violence in Alaska (2019)
I was part of a team that helped run an event discussing sexual violence in Kotzebue, Alaska. This panel discussion was among the first of its kind for Kotzebue. Counselors and resources were available for anyone triggered by the discussion.
Read the full story. Discussing Alaska’s long history of sexual violence is one step toward seeking solutions: Seventy people, including elders and Alaska public officials, gathered in Kotzebue for a public conversation on a well-known but rarely discussed statewide problem.
Event: West Virginia listening sessions (2018)
I ran listening sessions in West Virginia. I picked where I had these meetups based on reporting needs, but also on community needs. I made a public call for suggestions on where to hold these meetups, and received more than 100 recommendations.
East St. Louis public housing (2018)
I held community meetups in East St. Louis, Ill., for a project on public housing in small- and mid-sized cities across the country.
Read more in this post: How I Learned to Let Communities Guide Our Local Reporting Projects
“Journalism doesn’t really matter unless people read it. Our mission is impact. Public housing residents and community members attended our final event in East St. Louis, and we looked up building inspection history and combed through inspection reports together. When we bring our reporting back to the community, we give people the chance to respond — and they can give us even more fodder to continue digging.”
Photo: The East St. Louis, Ill., library, where we held our first community meetup.
Nieman Lab prediction (2020)
In my Nieman Lab prediction, I wrote about the impact these events (and other art, much of it virtual) had on me in 2020.