Beyond the Broadcasting Model

Summary

Sean Gibbons and Tristan Mohabir make the case for relationships over broadcasting: “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… 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’d do well to remember that communication and community are inseparable and evolved from that common root.”

Rationale

It helped us see past messaging. We now ask of any work, communications included, whether it reshapes relationships rather than simply communicating an idea.