Pew Center Helps Support Project Reconnect

 in Spring 1997  tagged Research


Spring 1997

Pew Center Helps Support Project Reconnect


By Dr. Judy Vanslyke Turk

Dean, College of Journalism and
Mass Communications

University of South Carolina



Six daily newspapers and six college journalism programs have teamed up for an unprecedented experiment in newspaper change called Project Reconnect.


Unlike most change efforts in the newspaper industry, which have been undertaken by the newspapers themselves, this effort brings together faculty and students from leading journalism schools and departments and newsroom staffs as partners in creating change at the six newspapers.


Each newspaper/journalism program team is designing a project that seeks to reconnect the newspaper with a specific group in its community that had become disaffected and disenchanted with how the newspaper covered its community. A key element of the projects is that any results — whether the change efforts made a difference at the newspaper and within the specific community group — will be tracked and documented through research and evaluation.


The Pew Center for Civic Journalism is contributing $80,000 over the next two years to support the expense of evaluating the outcomes at each of the newspapers.


Project Reconnect grew out of a February 1996 meeting, chaired by Gil Thelen, executive editor of The State in Columbia, SC, and chair of the change committee of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Newspaper editors and journalism faculty members gathered at The Poynter Institute for Media Studies to brainstorm ways in which the lessons of ASNE’s “Timeless Values” report could be used to engineer change at individual newspapers.


Each of the six teams is seeking to understand better the views and values of the targeted group in its community: What is it that these groups look for in their newspaper? When do they feel they, or issues important to them, are depicted unfairly and inappropriately? What stereotypes do journalists draw of them? How do they think journalists can do more to improve mutual respect and understanding within a community?


A variety of approaches are being used by the six newspapers to research and reach out to their disaffected audiences, including community forums, focus groups, moderated discussions with opinion leaders, one-on-one interviews with citizens and community leaders, and surveys.


The six newspaper-university teams and their targeted community groups


Oregon: Peter Bhatia of the Portland Oregonian and Dr. John Russial of the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication, working with environmental protection groups and environmental businesses and industry.


North Carolina: Judy Bolch of the Raleigh News & Observer and Frank Fee, a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina’s School of Journalism, addressing coverage of blue-collar neighborhoods.


Colorado: Steve Smith of the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph and Prof. Patricia Raybon of the University of Colorado’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, addressing a disconnect over the coverage of business.


South Carolina: Carolyn Click of The State in Columbia and Prof. Ernest L. Wiggins of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications at the University of South Carolina, focusing on a disconnect with conservative Christians and people of religious faith.


Florida: Jim Osteen of The Gainesville Sun andDr. Kim Walsh-Childers of the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications, working on town-gown relationships.


Virginia: Ed Jones of The Fredericksburg Freelance-Star and Dr. Barbara Baylor Hines of Howard University’s Department of Journalism, addressing African Americans and coverage of Civic War Topics.



At each paper, newsroom members will be involved in discussions and briefings that focus on how the paper currently frames stories of particular interest to its disconnected public and how it might provide coverage that rings “truer” to that public without abrogating journalistic values and responsibility for objectivity and fairness.


Each of the efforts will conclude with an evaluation to determine what changes have occurred or should occur in newsroom practices as well as what changes have occurred in the opinions of the disaffected groups about the newspapers’ coverage.


All projects will be completed by April 1998 and a full report will be made at next year’s ASNE convention.


Dr. Turk is co-chairing Project Reconnect with Gil Thelen, executive editor of The State, in Columbia, SC.