Public Insight Network

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The Wichita Eagle’s Public Insight Network relies on your personal experiences and expertise to guide our news coverage.

Here's how it works: First, sign up by taking any of the current surveys listed below. After that, we will periodically e-mail you asking for input on stories we are working on or story ideas.

You will receive no advertising or spam, and may unsubscribe at any time.

Our promise to you:

1. We will read what you share. Your insights are important to us.
2. We will do our best to let you know if/how we used what you shared.
3. We won’t publish, broadcast or distribute your responses without your explicit permission.
   • Unless you have given us permission to publish within your response, this means we will contact you if we want to publish what you’ve shared. We do this for two reasons:
   • We want you to be comfortable telling us information without the fear that we will immediately publish it or attribute it to you.
   • We want to minimize the chance that someone is using a fake identity or scamming us. We want to know there is a real person behind the response.
4. If you give us permission to publish your comments, we may edit them before publishing them. Also, we aren’t required to use them and we have the right to reuse or republish them later.
5. When you engage with a newsroom through PIN it’s about journalism — only. We will not use your information for marketing or promotional purposes.
   • You’ll receive no spam messages;
   • We won’t send you invitations to participate in fundraising or membership activities, or other promotional events and;
   • When we talk about the Network with our colleagues, your personal information is kept confidential.

Read the full privacy policy here.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Public Insight Network?

It’s a way for people to share their ideas, knowledge and experiences with journalists at The Wichita Eagle and across the country. The network consists of tens of thousands of people who have signed up to be sources for journalists and the newsrooms authorized to contact them. About once a month you may get an e-mail with a survey form asking editorially relevant questions about current events and issues.

Who is in the network?

About 150,000 people and more than 60 newspapers, magazines and radio and TV stations.

You can be a source for one publication, several, or all of them. It’s up to you.

What do I know that you would be interested in?

Everyone is an expert in something, whether through occupation, hobbies or life experiences.

We also want to hear about the experiences that have helped shape your views on everything from taxes to how you chose what neighborhood to live in.

Why should I be a source?

Out of civic duty, or just to help us get it right when writing about your neighborhood, your line of work or your political views. And it may be fun.

Why do you need so much personal information?

It helps us target the queries to those who have experiences with an issue or would have the most at stake. For example, if you tell us you have children in public school or you are a teacher, we may send you a query on education. If you tell us you like to garden or work at a garden center we may ask you about trends you are seeing in the garden. We may also target queries to specific geographic areas.

The more you've told us about yourself, the more likely reporters will be able to identify you as a source for a specific story.

Who will be able to see my information?

Your information is kept in a confidential database. Journalists at PIN newsrooms will be able to see your contact info, the info you've shared about yourself in your profile, and find you in searches on keywords you've mentioned. The full text of any web questionnaires you answer will only be seen by journalists working on that particular story or project who have promised to abide by the PIN rules.

What are the PIN rules?

The PIN is only for journalism — that means no spam or non-editorial questions.

You will never be quoted or published without your permission.

Your personal info and responses will only be seen by PIN-authorized journalists and the APM administrators who manage the PIN.

PIN journalists use the things you've shared in the past to try to send you the most relevant questions possible.

PIN journalists work together to make sure we don't query you too often.

How will you use the answers that I supply?

In part, that’s up to you. Each query will asking if you want to give your permission to use your answers, or if you would mind if a reporter contacts you. We won’t use your name or contact you without your permission.

We will read all the answers. Even if we don’t quote you, your answers may help shape the story or give us ideas of other people we may need to talk to or questions we may need to ask.

May I pass along the queries to friends?

Absolutely. If you receive a query that someone you know might be interested in, please forward it to them.

May I pitch story ideas?

We want to hear story ideas, and we promise that someone will read everything you send us, although we may not be able to do all of the stories suggested.

I have more questions. Who do I contact?

Send an email to publicinsight@wichitaeagle.com or call Jean Hays, 316-268-6557.

PIN Privacy Policy

Special Note for Public Insight Network Participants

The Public Insight Network (PIN) is a new way for people to share their insights, knowledge and expertise with journalists to make news coverage more accurate, relevant, transparent and trustworthy. If you sign up to be a source in the PIN, journalists authorized by The Wichita Eagle, Kansas.com or American Public Media may contact you via telephone, texting, survey forms, email and social media to ask editorially relevant questions about topics related to their reporting.

Information provided to PIN

When you sign up, you'll be asked to supply:

• Your name and contact information.
• Some personal background information that provides context for your insight. For example, you may be asked to provide your age and educational background.
• Your insight on a topic that is relevant to our reporting.

How your data will be stored

The data you supply via PIN is stored in a separate, secure database. It may be accessed by PIN-authorized journalists as part of their reporting. It is never combined with information that you provide as a part of other relationships that you may have with the Wichita Eagle or Kansas.com.

How we may use your data

We will not use your name, personal information, or the insights you share for any purpose other than the PIN. If you agree to let us publish or make public a specific insight, then your permission will apply only to that insight. Permission for use of a specific insight is not deemed permission for the public use of any other prior or future insight. Your name and/or personal information will never be traded, sold, or rented to other organizations. You will never be solicited for a contribution or receive marketing materials from any PIN newsroom, or from any other organization as a result of your participation in PIN. Your participation in PIN, and the information and insights you share therein, will have no influence or effect on any other interaction you may have with The Wichita Eagle or Kansas.com.