Beyond the Broadcasting Model

Also catalogued elsewhere

Today’s communications landscape demands that social sector organizations move away from a 20th-century broadcasting approach and toward dialogue, relationship-building, and fostering community.

Foundations and nonprofits need to focus on community building rather than just pushing messages to an audience (or to that awful, imprecise word that ought to be banished to the jargon jar, “stakeholders”). It’s about engaging real people in meaningful ways to foster support and collaboration, which requires investing in genuine relationships and building sustainable communities based on shared values.

This means moving away from mass messaging and toward face-to-face connections—listening, collaborating, and forming real partnerships.

Trust is the foundation of communication, and in the field of communications-for-good, cultivating trust isn’t optional, it’s essential.

According to Edelman’s 2023 Trust Barometer, a six-to-one margin of people want organizations to actively engage with societal issues rather than just talk about them.

Ultimately, the shift from broadcasting to relationship-building is more than just a tactical change. It’s a recalibration, driven by data and the evolving expectations of the communities we serve.

we must practice deep listening to learn where our communities want to meet us, and then make the trip.

we’d do well to remember that communication and community are inseparable and evolved from that common root.