The BBC's user-generated content (UGC) hub began using a tool called Hearken in September 2016 to get an idea of the type of stories people were interested in even outside the news agenda. The aim was to build trust with the audience by answering their questions and including them more in how the news gets made.
Hearken is a platform and framework focused on public-powered journalism. Various news organisations around the US have been using it to get their readers more involved in the stories that are being reported, from the pitching stage to publication.
In this week's episode, we speak to Andrée Massiah, senior broadcast journalist at BBC News, and the UGC hub's Hearken lead, about how people have been using the feature, and the type of stories they have helped shape.
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