Project Topic: Project Topic

Common Ground, San Jose, CA

 in Education

Common Ground, San Jose, CA 1996

Partners:

San Jose Mercury News
KNTV (ABC)
KPIX-TV (CBS)
KIVE and KARA Radio
Santa Clara Public Libraries

“Common Ground” was an editorial page project designed to encourage public discussion on controversial topics and create public spaces where those discussions could occur. On its editorial and commentary pages, the Mercury News editorial board would publish lists of suggested reading on topics such as affirmative action or changing the state constitution. Library officials recommended the books and magazines and ensured the lists were broad-based and not slanted toward a particular view.  Read more

Speak Up, Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL

 in Engagement

Speak Up, Tampa Bay, Tampa, FL 1996

Partners:

WTVT-TV (Fox) 
Weekly Planet Alternative Paper
WMNF Community Radio 
Tampa Chapter of National Conference

The partners sought to bring civic journalism to the Tampa Bay area through a series of four jointly sponsored town hall forums and the encouragement of smaller “kitchen table” discussions in citizens’ homes. The forums were aided by “Speak Up, Tampa Bay,” a group of citizens brought together as an advisory board on civic journalism to WTVT and the Weekly Planet. The group evolved into an independent body focused on engaging citizens in deliberative dialogue by hosting forums and small group discussions on Bay area issues and on connecting the media with citizens and their issues. Read more

A Community Conversation, Grand Forks, ND

 in Engagement

A Community Conversation, Grand Forks, ND 1995

Partners:

Grand Forks Herald
WDAZ-TV (ABC)
Northern LightsPublic Radio 

The partners held a series of “Community Conversations” via coffee klatches, focus groups and polls, assessing quality-of-life issues and forging a vision for the future of Grand Forks, a city of 60,000. The partners kicked the project off by driving a van to various public places around the city for a month. They interviewed some 120 people in coffee shops, bowling alleys, shopping malls and a U.S. Air Force base. They used comments from these conversations to devise a poll of 400 residents. The surprise consensus, reported by the partners on June 2, 1995, was that people believed Grand Forks officials could make the city a better place by fixing the streets. Read more

The Public Agenda, Tallahassee, FL 1995

 in Engagement

The Public Agenda, Tallahassee, FL 1995

Partners:

Tallahassee Democrat
WCTV6 (CBS)
Florida State University
Florida A&M Universities

The second year of the three-year “Public Agenda” project trained more citizens to lead and participate in small group discussions and continued polling to be sure the concerns of all members of the diverse community were surfacing. For more details, please see Year One (1994) project descriptions.

Contacts:

Mimi Jones
Project Manager
The Public Agenda
1713 Silverwood Dr. 
Tallahassee, FL32301
Phone: (850) 942-7199 Read more

The Public Mind, Manhattan, KS

 in Engagement

The Public Mind, Manhattan, KS 1995

Partners:

The Manhattan Mercury
KQLA-FM

The partners in “The Public Mind” project took a civic approach to exploring one local issue a month in depth and inviting citizens to discuss possible solutions. The series began, May 7, 1995, with an exploration of teenage binge drinking. In June, the topic was neighborhood associations; July, the student rental housing market and in September, a look at child care. 

In the first week of the month, the Mercury devoted a page to a status report on the issue; in the second week it gave experts’ perspectives; the third week it published case studies of individuals affected by the issue and the fourth week it invited the public to address the issue in a community forum, usually attended by six to 10 people. Follow-up stories explored solutions that were suggested. Read more

Voices of the People, Cincinnati, OH

 in 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

 in Elections


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

Grading Our Schools, Rochester, NY

 in Education

Grading Our Schools, Rochester, NY 1995

Partners:

Rochester Democrat andChronicle
WXXI Public Television
WOKR-TV (ABC)

Eight years after a highly touted school reform effort began, Rochester area residents still had concerns about education. “Grading our Schools” got hundreds of them participating – through polls, televised town meetings, focus groups and chat rooms – in appraising and redirecting the effort. The project also laid the groundwork for several subsequent civic journalism projects on education, violence and youth issues. Read more