Share What You Know - Become a Source for WNYC

Housing. Transportation. Crime. Politics. The latest news from your borough - or your block. Whatever's on your mind, WNYC needs your knowledge and experience to help our news programs stay connected to the issues that concern you. The Public Insight Network is a group of people from all walks of life who inform our news coverage.

You can help make our news coverage even stronger by joining WNYC's Public Insight Network.

Or, you can share what you know about a subject we're looking into:

• What will you remember most about Senator Ted Kennedy?
• Cast your vote for "mayor" of your block!
• Obama, Crowley, and Gates—Can "beer diplomacy" lead to a teachable moment?
• Have you seen a drop in your cost of living?
• Sotomayor revives an old debate: Hispanic or Latino?
• What special New York place would you landmark?
• Should New York allow same-sex couples to wed?
• Have you considered switching political parties?
• Are you in favor of the plan to repeal the Rockefeller Drug Laws?
• What's driving the home birth movement in New York?
• What's news in your borough?
• Are we a "nation of cowards" when it comes to talking about race?
• What's your personal connection to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict?

Here's How It Works

As we look into various subjects, we will e-mail you and ask you to tell us about your experiences. If we're looking into a medical issue, we'll seek insight from doctors, nurses and patients who have direct experience with that issue. If we're looking into education, we'll talk to teachers and administrators as well as parents with school-age children. Your work, education and life experience, even your hobbies, give you knowledge and insight.

One of our Producers will pass on this knowledge to our reporters and editors. Network sources may reveal new angles on the stories we're covering or may provide us with entirely new ideas. Reporters may follow up with you for quotes and comments for broadcast or online discussions.

As a Public Insight Network source, you can expect to receive an e-mail no more than once a month. If you don't have knowledge about a particular topic, we'll ask you to forward the message on to someone who does or simply delete it.

We promise that access to personal information shared with us will be restricted to a small group of journalists. The journalists may work for WNYC or for national programs like Marketplace and American RadioWorks. That means no spam, no marketing and no requests for donations as a result of signing up.

What You Can Expect by Becoming a Public Source

1. No more than one e-mail a month asking for your experience on issues we plan to cover - you respond only if you have knowledge; otherwise ignore the request
2. An occasional follow-up call or e-mail to get more information if we follow a lead you provide
3. Confidentiality: We won't quote you on the radio or the Web without your permission
4. An open line for you to tell our newsroom what stories are important to you, your family and your community and help us set our coverage priorities
5. No spam, marketing calls or requests for money - your information is private and is not shared outside of a small circle of public radio journalists
6. You may also be called on to help with national stories through American Public Media -- your participation will inform well-known programs such as Marketplace, Marketplace Money, Speaking of Faith and American RadioWorks
7. Your help will make public radio coverage stronger by giving access to first person information and sources, new story ideas, a wider range of perspectives and information that helps us identify under-covered or emerging issues around New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.

Become part of the Public Insight Network | FAQ