Civic Leadership Project, Bangor, ME 2001
Partners:
Bangor Daily News
The Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy
University of Maine
A six-part series on leadership identified the most active behind-the-scenes community leaders in the Bangor area, what traits they held in common and the importance of their work to the life of the community. The paper began the project by compiling a database of 1,600 community leaders. The list included the directors, trustees and top officers of the 100 largest non-profit organizations and the 50 largest locally owned companies in Bangor and 20 nearby communities, as well as the local managers of the 30 largest national and regional chains with a local presence. They also included town council members, school board members, school superintendents and town managers in the area.
The paper ranked the most active leaders by how many times their names appeared on the list. Reporters interviewed the 20 most active men and women about the challenges the area faced, potential solutions and the role of civic leaders in the process. The series included profiles of five of the leaders.
In addition to the stories about leaders, editors said the database was useful in reporting other major stories, notably coverage of the 2000 census, by providing a ready list of sources for interviews. The project also built the paper’s capacity for computer-assisted reporting. This paid off in a number of ways, including an investigative report on Maine restaurants using state health inspection records.
Contact:
A. Mark Woodward
Executive Editor
Bangor Daily News
491 Main St.
Bangor, ME 04401
Phone: (207) 990-8239
Email: mwoodward@bangordailynews.net