Dear ROPnet,
For our democracy to thrive, we need well-informed people who participate in the democratic process. Strong community media is crucial to keeping the people of Oregon informed about what is happening locally, statewide, and nationally. With the closure of countless rural newspapers and radio stations, the consolidation of media groups that out-of-state corporations own, and the slide of many local radio stations to the far right, we are seeing the inevitable lack of accurate and accessible media for Oregon’s small towns and rural communities. OPB reported on the declining media landscape just last week! It is clear we need more rural Oregonians to create media and to build stronger connections between folks reporting on local issues. But how do we do that?
At ROP, we’ve been experimenting for years on what it looks like to build lasting community media infrastructure. Donate today to support our work in 2025 and beyond!
Here are some of the experiments and what we’ve learned from them:
- In 2019, we launched the Rural Roots Rising radio show and podcast. We published 30-minute episodes every month for three seasons, with 20 radio stations playing our content and thousands of listeners on podcasting platforms around the world!
We learned that radio stations and listeners were hungry for powerful stories created by and for rural Oregonians who are creatively and courageously building stronger and more vibrant communities for a just democracy.
- In 2021, we worked with radio partners at Oregon Community Media to support two communities in applying for their very own radio station licenses. KRFR in Malheur County and KBZR in Baker County are both eagerly working towards getting on the air!
We learned that community radio brings together community members from a variety of viewpoints, builds community trust and sets a positive objective for community organizing that lowers temperatures and has some good intergenerational fun along the way!
- In 2023 and 2024, we partnered with communications expert Robert Bray to host strategic messaging trainings “On Message, With Meaning,” at the Rural Caucus and Strategy Sessions and over Zoom. Together, we trained nearly 200 people across rural Oregon.
We learned that with some basic tools, human dignity leaders can level up their messaging to shift dominant and harmful rural narratives and be more effective and compelling in their organizing efforts.
- This year, we launched the Rural Roots Rising Communications Cohort to support leaders training in basic principles to deepen their skills and collaborate in media creation. These leaders are writing for local newspapers, producing radio shows and podcasts, publishing content across a variety of social media platforms, and much more!
We learned that we have so many strong communicators across our network! So far our monthly meetings have allowed for cross-pollination and discussions around strategic messaging approaches. By working together, we can learn from each other’s mistakes and successes, but it takes patience to build something lasting.
Where are we going from here?
In 2025, we hope to build upon our strong foundation in the Rural Roots Rising Communications Cohort to start co-creating content and supporting one another through direct feedback and collaboration on each other’s work. You might see more content written by volunteer leaders, such as the ROPnets Charlie Bloomer has already written for ROP (like this one about a postal service victory or this one about the Oregon Remembrance Project).
Can you support us in uplifting voices that often aren’t heard on national media outlets?
- Donate to ROP today to support our work
- Reply to this email if you want to participate in the cohort in 2025!
- Check out our annual report to learn more about other local organizing victories from the last year!
Warmly,
Sam and the ROP Team
