Enterprise Center Launches New Platform To Demystify Local Government
Initiative Will Help Elevate Local Issues And Stories To Help Combat Fragmented Media Consumption That Too Often Leads To Civic Disengagement.
Image Credit: Chattamatters / YouTube
By Ellis Smith –
The Enterprise Center has formed a platform named Chattamatters, aimed at helping residents learn about the city’s biggest challenges and solutions.
Chattamatters is a civic education project with a local focus, designed by The Enterprise Center to deepen residents’ understanding of local issues, with the goal of increasing civic engagement.
The Chattamatters project will combine storytelling and digital engagement to increase transparency through the use of dynamic, educational content.
“To be effective in today’s fragmented media landscape, local leaders have to think differently about how we communicate, with an unrelenting focus on explanatory governance,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, “Chattamatters is an opportunity to engage with residents at a deeper level, and better connect our community with the services local government provides.”
From the rising cost of housing to the challenges of training our local workers, Chattamatters will explore and explain complicated questions, while also offering practical help ranging from the simple — how to ride the bus — to the complex, such as how to effectively participate in a public meeting.
Videos will feature motion graphics and compelling narration about key issues in the city, with a focus on creating content that is useful, snappy, non-ideological and hyper-local.
“People consume media in such a wide range of ways, and we at The Enterprise Center saw an opportunity to help individuals and communities reshape the assumptions and habits that form around communication to tell Chattanooga stories in a way that provides pathways to deeper engagement,” said Deb Socia, president and CEO of The Enterprise Center. “Thanks to this partnership with the city, we’ll be able to make this hyper-local content available across all digital platforms, as well as make it available to our friends in the local news media, as we work to build a more engaged community.”
For more information, visit chattamatters.com to sign up for updates and connect via social media.
About the Author: Ellis Smith is the Director of Special Projects for the City of Chattanooga. Follow Ellis on Twitter @ellisthered
