Hierarchy of Information Needs

Stewards: Sarah Alvarez and Harry Backlund

How might we refresh the original Hierarchy of Information Needs, articulated in our 2018 paper “Is Your Journalism a Luxury or a Necessity?” 

There is huge transformative potential in a structural approach to meeting information needs, where fundamental needs are addressed as a public good and higher levels of information preference are met by the market as a luxury good. This framework, created at the first meeting of what would become News Futures, has helped people around the world, but it’s time for a refresh. 

We want to help people create or re-align news and information services to meet current needs. This working group will reimagine the hierarchy of information needs and work towards a more nuanced, unified and actionable theory of informed and equipped communities. Our goal is to share these new frameworks in a well-designed, accessible and shareable collection. 

Looking for contributors who want to:

• Join regular meetings, approximately once a month

• Participate in a design charrette for alternatives to the hierarchy of information needs 

• Engage in asynchronous reading, review and dialogue between meetings

Watch Harry describe the Hierarchy of Information Needs Working Group at our February 26 launch event: