Consider these four factors during your first brainstorm

One day, you come across this idea of walking tours as a medium for local journalism. A light bulb goes off, your curiosity is piqued. 

Now what?

Well first, please contact me if you’re considering tours for your news organization. I’ve talked with journalists from Oregon, Michigan and New York over the past month and learned so much through their questions.

Next, consider these four factors:

Geography

It may seem obvious, but you need to identify if there’s a good place to convene a walking tour in your community. Consider the distances, public vs. private property, and the news that takes place in that space.The right route goes a long way.

For Future Tides’ tours on the Seattle waterfront, I had a few spots in mind but chose to start in a city park because as long as the tours are free and under 50 people, no permit is required. Using Google Maps and scouting the area on foot, I came up with a 1.5 mile route.

However, what really has made Lake Union Park a great place for these tours is all the activity taking place in, and around, the park. It provides ample examples of the region’s modern maritime community, natural segues into recent news, and is unique to our community.

Newsberg Editor Branden Andersen created a route through downtown Newberg, Oregon. It’s centralized and takes less than an hour to walk. But, after doing his first tour, he learned how loud the highway through the middle of town is, making it hard for people to hear.

Something similar happened to me. I’d anticipated loud interruptions from seaplanes taking off and landing, but on the most recent tour, I also had to compete with a Bollywood exercise class and professional sound system.

It’s important to walk your route before leading a tour, and visit the area multiple times. Every time I visit Lake Union Park, it’s a different scene and I have to adapt (which can be fun!).

In some cases, there may not be a central location to walk. Consider covering more ground with public transit, buses, golf carts, bicycles or boats. These will introduce additional logistics but also additional opportunities, especially for new partnerships. For example, Future Tides is talking to existing boat tour operators about doing a special edition tour for locals during their slow season.

Content

Like with good journalism, good tour content wins the day. Have you been on a bad tour? Me too. I hope you’ve also been on a GREAT tour because it’s a whole different story. I recently had a terrific tour guide at Crater Lake National Park (a former journalist, go figure), it was a highlight of our family trip.

Remember, as local journalists we already know a lot. Some background information that you might take for granted, or as evident, is probably perfect for a tour. Don’t assume what people know, but also don’t oversimplify or shy away from complex or contentious issues.

For Future Tides, I started with a list of topics tied to stops along the route. I’ve refined this list after each tour, eliminating or expanding on some topics, and rearranging the order. My script has expanded to include key facts, practical directions, pronouncers, and an ask to support my work.

Consider how you want to handle local history. A couple newsrooms I spoke with are considering partnerships with local historians, some of whom already give tours. In Seattle, we have a number of great history tours and museums, so I include a little history for background but primarily focus on the present day and direct people to these other resources.

I believe there can be synergy between tour content and local reporting. On the Future Tides route, we’re witnessing a new Northwest Native Canoe Center take shape, which has been in the works for 50 years. In Newberg, Andersen’s route goes by City Hall and a recently opened restaurant, both of which tie into Newsberg’s coverage.

Staff

New initiatives take time, there’s no way around that. Account for the time it takes to design, market, prep, execute, and debrief. That sounds like a lot, but I estimate the 2024 pilot took me 40 hours.

This will shift over time too. In year two, I’m spending more time on marketing than research, and by doing tours twice a month instead of monthly, I’m incorporating feedback quicker. I plan on these tours being seasonal, to focus on other work and get out in the best weather.

I personally enjoy leading the tours and find it both rewarding and energizing. But that might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Time is precious, so I consider both the short term (new subscribers, in-person audience engagement) and long term (cultivating members, brand awareness) value.

I’m also actively exploring how I could scale with strategic partners, seasonal staff or volunteer docents. If I were part of a slightly larger team, I’d explore rotating tour guide duties or partnering up with a colleague to lead a tour. 

Audience

You’ve mapped a promising route, found synergy between your reporting and tour content, and identified someone ready to talk loudly and potentially walk backwards, but: Who is your tour for?

This question is incredibly important and maybe should be the first consideration but, sometimes it is too big of a question and bogs people down. Also, the answer might change after you get started.

During the 2024 pilot, Future Tides’ tours brought out both current subscribers and a new audience. This summer, most attendees are interactive with Future Tides for the first time via these tours, so I designed a new audience funnel with that in mind:

Back in Newberg, many tour attendees had moved to the area within the past year. Similarly, on my most recent tour, 88% of the group moved to Seattle within the past decade.

Tours, like publications, shouldn’t try to be for everyone. Is a tour for your most engaged audience? Or an introduction to your local newsroom? Or is there another subset of your current audience that might be a good fit?

Consider your audience before, during and after each tour. Their direct and indirect feedback will help you answer “who is this tour for?”

The next step

Next month, I’ll be back with how newsrooms should think big when it comes to tours, but start small and leverage product thinking.

Subscribe to receive occasional email updates about my work, including new RJI article alerts. 

And if you know anyone that fits into one of these buckets, please let me know:

1. Other publications or journalists (besides Untapped New York, Newsberg and Future Tides) who are already giving walking tours.
2. Local publications/newsrooms/outlets who might be interested in testing out tours.
3. Examples of “tours for locals” that aren’t about history.

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Cite this article

Kuhlman, Cara (2025, Sept. 9). Taking the first step: How to explore walking tours for your newsroom. Reynolds Journalism Institute. Retrieved from: https://rjionline.org/news/taking-the-first-step-how-to-explore-walking-tours-for-your-newsroom/