Project Topic: Elections

Voices of the People, Cincinnati, OH 1995

Partners:

WKRC-TV (CBS) 
The Community Press Chain of Suburban Weeklies 
Q102 and WNNK Radio

An unusual partnership, with TV taking the lead and enlisting suburban weeklies rather than one large daily, “Voices of the People” sought, according to its mission statement, “to empower citizens by making sure their voices are heard and by showing their involvement does make a difference.”

Short on resources when it first kicked off in May 1995, the partners simply had staffers each call 10 people from the telephone directory and discuss their needs and issues that affected their lives. Pew support allowed the partners to hire a community coordinator to organize projects under the “Voices of the People” umbrella. Read more

Front Porch Forum, Seattle, WA 1995

Partners:

The Seattle Times 
KUOW-FM Radio 
KCTS Public TV
KPLU-FM, Tacoma, WA

Energized by their work together for the 1994 NPR election project, the partners used their newly formed “Front Porch Forum” alliance to tackle a number of issues facing the Seattle area. They held a joint forum on a new, multi-million dollar transit system and held focus groups to explore two other local tax measures.

By the end of the year, “Front Porch Forum” added a television partner (KCTS) to extend its reach and, with additional funding in 1996, hired a full-time coordinator, Marion Woyvodich, to organize polls, focus groups, town halls, forums and other events to get public input for this unique exploration of public issues. Read more

We the People/Wisconsin, Madison, WI 1994

Partners:

Wisconsin StateJournal
Wisconsin Public TV
Wisconsin Public Radio
WISC-TV (CBS)
Wood Communication Group

Pew support helped “We the People/Wisconsin,” one of American journalism’s first and most enduring civic journalism coalitions, use innovative techniques to engage citizens in election coverage. The Pew support helped the partners measure whether the effort had an impact on public participation in the elections. The experiment showed that a planned, coordinated, multi-media civic journalism effort can interest citizens and draw them into the public sphere.  Read more