“Civic Lessons:” New Research on Civic Journalism

Spring 1997

“Civic Lessons:” New Research on Civic Journalism

The research has been completed and the first academic study of projects supported by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism is off the presses.

As reported in the January Civic Catalyst, the researchers found that the four civic journalism initiatives studied were widely and positively recognized in their communities and prompted increased civic activity.

But not all the findings were positive. While citizen responses were consistently enthusiastic, “newsroom responses were frequently ambivalent or even negative,” according to the research.

Copies of “Civic Lessons,” Report on a 1996 Evaluation of Four Civic Journalism Projects Funded by The Pew Center for Civic Journalism, can be ordered from the Pew Center, 202-331-3200.

“By far, the most significant finding in the evaluators’ report is that, on the whole, civic journalism is making progress toward its goals,” said Rebecca Rimel, president and chief executive of The Pew Charitable Trusts, which funds the Pew Center for Civic Journalism and funded the research. “It benefits both the communities it serves and the overall democratic process.”

Most people surveyed who were aware of the four projects said they felt more knowledgeable and concerned about their communities as a result of the civic journalism reports and indicated they had a stronger sense of their civic responsibilities.

The projects studied were in San Francisco, Charlotte, NC, Madison, WI, and Binghamton, NY.

Among the key qualitative findings:

• The projects had “impressive reach” into their communities.
• They all increased public discussion.
• They appeared to strengthen a sense in leaders and citizens that they could solve local problems.
• Citizens exposed to the civic journalism wanted more such reporting.
• The strengths of the four projects laid less in technological innovation then in intensified enterprise reporting.