(Photo by Alyson McClaran for Colorado Media Project with CC attribution license)

OpenNews has brought back its community survey: The News Nerd Survey is open for your input.

The News Nerd Survey began several years ago in conversations with community members, seeking to answer questions like “Who are ‘news nerds’?” “What changes need to happen in journalism?”

From the very first survey, respondents were clear about the change that was necessary: the journalism industry needs to become more diverse, inclusive, and equitable. The second survey, sought to gather more actionable data, especially about conditions journalists were facing in their work and salaries. In particular, the analysis of news nerd salary data conducted by Soo Oh has been used frequently by job seekers and hiring managers alike.

The data from these prior surveys has informed the direction of OpenNews’ work and helps to contextualize other data projects, too. In addition, efforts like the Leavers survey have deepened the understanding of how journalists, especially journalists of color, are forced out of the field.

At SRCCON 2022, speakers discussed the importance of data for understanding the landscape you’re working to change and how critical retention is to creating a thriving journalism ecosystem. Conversations at SRCCON, candid Exit Interviews, and data from this survey are all ways to understand the path forward to create a journalism industry that truly serves and includes everyone, no matter their job title or background.

Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey and share it with your colleagues.

OpenNews will share the findings from this year’s survey in late 2022. If you would like information about this survey project, or help with future surveys, please reach out.