A portable network kit developed by PNK for deployment by emergency first responders. (Photo from PNK)

Two major audience challenges in journalism are reach and activation. News organizations need to figure out how to make contact with a member of their community and get them involved. It’s a coordination problem commonly seen in missing markets that various engagement strategies and technologies seek to address.

A particularly difficult version of this problem is when it comes to reaching geographic communities. Mailers, texting, micro-targeting, and canvassing are some ways news organization have tried to reach geographic communities. WiFi networks are another way to do that.

WiFi networks are known for connecting people to the Internet but that’s not all they do. Local WiFi networks can host chat rooms, websites, and provide cloud storage all without connecting to the Internet.

When Puerto Ricans lost power during Hurricane Maria in 2017, some launched local WiFi networks with portable network kits to communicate with each other to share information and coordinate local relief efforts.

Residents in Red Hook, Brooklyn launched mesh networks, during Hurricane Sandy in 2012. Since then, other neighborhoods in New York City have launched their own wireless networks in preparation for the next storm.

Those networks are built to share wireless access to the Internet during power outages through strategically placed modems and repeaters powered by alternative energy.

Here are a few ways you might use a local WiFi network in your newsroom:

Your newsroom has recently launched a paywall but wants to make sure its reporting reaches communities who have lesser means. You can launch a local WiFi network to give residents in a particular neighborhood access to your content through that network. This can also serve as your connection to an underserved community.

You want to engage a geographic community you cannot otherwise reach. You can put up and promote a local WiFi network that people could join to connect with you and each other.

You’re looking for ways to promote your subscription or membership program. You can sponsor the WiFi at a local coffee shop where customers can sample your premium content and be encouraged to subscribe or become a member to receive access elsewhere.

Your community doesn’t have broadband access. You can facilitate the development of a mesh network to take existing Internet connections and make sure signals reach the community you serve.

Thinking about telecommunications infrastructure isn’t something most journalists are used to. But the channels by which news and information get to the communities they serve aren’t straightforward anymore. And if communities don’t have a way to reach you or you them, then you might as well be a hospital in a town with no roads.