On Wednesday, KCUR 89.3 tried something different with the Up To Date special report on the coronovirus.
Steve Kraske hosted experts on the impact of COVID-19 on public health and the area economy for a broadcast of Up To Date streamed live on Facebook. In case you didn’t have a chance to see it, check it out here.
Now just to be clear, KCUR has already done extensive reporting on the coronavirus outbreak, including this FAQ, which covers many important questions.
But today's Facebook Live broadcast was something different. What we’re trying to do is use engagement tools like Facebook, and our new texting platform, Groundsource, to provide a service. Our goal is to give us a space to facilitate a conversation about pressing issues, like coronavirus. Issues that we're all thinking about, maybe worried about or need clarification about as we all face what feels like a firehose stream of information.
We hope to help by opening our virtual doors, inviting you in to air your questions and concerns. Sometimes it will be with our own reporters. Sometimes experts. Sometimes we'll be out in the community, asking about your questions in the field.
We were delighted to have dozens of questions from our audience today. Some of you asked via Facebook:
And some via the new texting platofrm, Groundsource.
We're grateful to those of you diving in with us on new platforms.
If you would like to join our texting exchange about the coronavirus, please text COVID to 816-601-4777. You can opt out at any time by texting the word STOP.
Stay tuned. We’re also using some of these techniques to cover Election 2020. You'll hear more about that very soon.
Meanwhile, please feel free to reach out to me, your community engagement reporter, via twitter @laurazig or by email lauraz@kcur.org with your ideas for how we can do a better a job engaging with you on these important stories. We want to make it as easy and asccessible as possible.
