Summer 1996
The James K. Batten Award Advisory Board Citations
The Charlotte Observer, “Taking Back Our Neighborhoods.”
“The newspaper took an activist role by asking residents in the crime-ridden neighborhoods to report on the root causes of crime, and to participate in the search for solutions. This newspaper effort was grounded on unusually strong neighborhood-by-neighborhood reporting. The newspaper listened to and wrote about people whose voices are rarely heard. Residents all over Charlotte responded, demonstrating that an aroused community can, within the system of public life, take responsibility for its own well-being.”
The Kansas City Star, “Raising Kansas City”
“More than 50 reporters and editors unabashedly wrote about, discussed and examined 12 basic values, delivering compelling accounts of childrens’ struggles and triumphs in a most untraditional way. This was not a polemic; it was a bottom-up enterprise that captivated children, parents, schools and social organizations alike. And it was a prime example of how a news organization could connect to its community in a way that engaged thousands of citizens in thinking about their individual responsibility for making public life go better.”
The Argus Leader, “Community on the Rise.”
“The newspaper had twin goals: To counter the despair many people have of their government and to help many rural South Dakota towns that are suffering hard times. First the newspaper reported on how three communities had surmounted serious problems and taken control of their destiny. Then it enlisted a college professor to help one community, Tyndall, address its many problems in a deliberative and public way. The result was the establishment of a model for community discussion and debate over basic values that led to progress for Tyndall, and most importantly, hope for other communities that the process of democracy can work.”