We urgently need a robust national conversation about the serious and imminent challenges facing the 2020 Census, underscoring the important role it plays in the political, economic and civic life of the nation. To avoid a failed count, we need strong, fact-based reporting to fuel this conversation, and to perhaps point to potential solutions and opportunities. But these are complicated issues, requiring knowledge from local communities as well as subject area experts. With support from the Knight Foundation, Prof. Mark Hansen of Columbia Journalism School and Prof. Mike Ananny from USC Annenberg School for Communication have started a project to help local newsrooms pair with academic researchers including social scientists, demographers, computer scientists and data scientists providing help to newsrooms as they find impactful, local stories about the census.

Presented by Dr. Mark Hansen, Director of the Brown Institute at Columbia Journalism School and ICPSR (at the U-M Institute for Social Research) Council Member.