Project Topic: Engagement

Reinventing Beat Reporting, Spokane, WA 2002 

Partners:

The Spokesman-Review, spokesmanreview.com 

Pew support allowed the paper to experiment with interactive on-line journalism tools that improved connections between reporters and readers and users. One of the most successful tools was an automated email system that was being widely used by reporters and editors within months of being created in early 2002. The system allows reporters to send out queries to a large database of readers and users. By the end of 2002, the Spokesman-Review’s database had 4,000 names in it. This was used in many ways. Read more

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.  Read more

Community News Digest, Portland, ME 2001 

Partners:

MaineToday.com

The online service, the portal for the Portland Press Herald, the Morning Sentinel, the Kennebec Journal and WMTW Broadcasting, built and customized an innovative software system that allows community groups to generate content. MaineToday originally received funding to use existing KOZ software to improve opportunities for citizens to contribute news, responses and questions to the site. The Portland Press Herald had been using KOZ software to help community groups establish their own Web sites hosted on MaineToday and began the project seeking wider applications of KOZ’s easy-to-use format. Just months into the project, however, KOZ filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy. By that time – early 2001 – nearly 2,000 community groups were publishing on MaineToday. The staff turned its efforts to building a new software system and also figuring out the best way to use it to enhance community participation. Read more

Computerized Polling Kiosks, Missoula, MT 2001 

Partners:

Missoulian

Using modest Pew funding, Missoulian reporter Rob Chaney refitted three government surplus computers to become portable polling kiosks, suitable for gathering instant reaction to news events or for determining which issues voters are most interested in.

Software installed in the computers allowed Chaney to program in survey questions on any topic and choose the type of answer he wanted – multiple choice, true-false, short answer – even essay questions. The computers were placed in simple wooden cabinets so they could be taken anywhere – senior citizen centers, high school cafeterias, even street corners if a power supply was available. Read more

Partners:

KVDA Channel 60 (Telemundo) 

San Antonio’s Spanish-language television station made history in May 2001 by integrating viewers into its newscasts through Web cameras in their homes. The feature, “Teledirecto TV,” was incorporated into regular newscasts at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. to add the voice of ordinary citizens to those of experts and politicians on stories that impact the public.

Cyber Mapping, Anniston, AL 2000 

Partners:

The Anniston Star

The paper sought to become more interactive by creating new opportunities for reader exchanges through its online service, and it made some strides in that direction, but technical difficulties kept reporters from taking full advantage of the project’s potential. 

The paper gathered about 800 e-mail addresses for a “cyber-map” to complement its civic map of community sources. However, the database has not been used as a reporting tool. Online editor Geni Certain explained the information was centralized on one newsroom computer so reporters did not have easy access to it and never got into the habit of using it. Read more

Geneforum.org, Portland, OR 2000 

Partners:

Oregon Public Broadcasting
Albany Democrat-Herald
The (La Grande) Observer
Newport News-Times
Geneforum.org

Because Oregon is the only state in the nation that treats an individual’s DNA as private property, its genetic privacy law is frequently under discussion and review. The project increased public knowledge of this unique law and created opportunities for public input into the ongoing discussions using a variety of tools:

• Three produced stories and five call-in shows on Oregon Public Radio.
• Seven focus groups around the state of 12-15 people each.
• A Nov. 14, 2000 town hall meeting in Portland that attracted 25 people including three state legislators.
• The creation of geneforum.org, an interactive Web site dedicated to the topic.

The Web site experienced approximately 10,000 user sessions during 2000. Some 300 of the visitors completed quizzes on their attitudes toward genetically engineered food and the use of their own tissue for genetic research. Read more

Eyes on the Bronx, Bronx, NY 1999

Partners:

BRONXNET
The Bronx Journal

BronxNet extended its efforts to link the borough’s multi-ethnic communities with the creation of several new broadcasts, utilizing its four public-access cable channels and its Web site. The broadcasts took advantage of the newly built Bronx Journalism Center at Lehman College, opened in 1999 and featuring both audio and video production facilities that allowed it to serve as a kind of “town square” for broadcast community discussions on issues of importance. Read more