Project Topic: Project Topic

The People’s Agenda, Indianapolis, IN

 in Citizenship


The People’s Agenda, Indianapolis, IN 2001 

Partners:

WTHR-TV (NBC)
The Indianapolis Star
WFYI-TV

While lobbyists roam state legislatures, tracking bills and wining and dining lawmakers, ordinary citizens are left out of the process by the simple business of living their lives. “The People’s Agenda” was an effort to restore balance to the process by making sure legislators knew what people wanted and giving citizens updates and score cards on how lawmakers responded. Read more

A Duty to Protect, Tacoma, WA

 in Governance


A Duty to Protect, Tacoma, WA 2001 

Partners:

The News Tribune
KCTS-TV (PBS)
KPLU-FM

The Washington state legislature was poised in January 2002 to limit lawsuits that could be brought by victims of crimes committed by prisoners on parole until a poll commissioned by the partners showed 90 percent of the state supported the victims’ right to sue. The measure was tabled, a sign of success for a project that sought to inject citizens’ voices into the debate over what to do about the state parole system. Read more

Teledirecto TV, San Antonio, TX

 in Engagement


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.

2001 Pew Projects

 in Project Topic


Waterfront Renaissance, Everett, WA 2001 

Partners:

The Herald
KSER-FM Public Radio

The paper’s “Waterfront Renaissance” project marked a new development in interactive journalism, marrying the credibility of the news organization with Web-based game technology that had previously been used mainly on advertising and entertainment sites. 

When the Herald set out not simply to inform but also to engage residents in the city’s effort to develop a comprehensive shoreline plan, it used many familiar civic journalism tools. A four-part series of stories, which began April 22, 2001, explained the options for the waterfront and included success stories from other cities, as well as a clip-and-send form to get citizen input into what should happen on Everett’s waterfront. The paper also sought citizen input through 10 neighborhood meetings and a larger town meeting where a national waterfront-development expert spoke.  Read more

Neighbor to Neighbor, Cincinnati, OH

 in Race Relations

Neighbor to Neighbor, Cincinnati, OH 2001

Partners:

The Cincinnati Enquirer,
WCET-TV (PBS),
WCPO-TV (CBS),
WKRC-TV (ABC),
WLWT-TV (NBC),
Kettering Foundation,
National Issues Forum

A year of extraordinary racial tension in Cincinnati in 2001 prompted an extraordinary response by the city’s media, led by the Enquirer, which collaborated on a project that involved 2,000 local residents in solutions-oriented conversations about race.

The paper had begun focusing on race even before rioting broke out in Cincinnati, publishing a race project March 4, 2001 – just five weeks before mobs took to the streets over the shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman. With Pew support, the paper worked with its partners to go beyond traditional reporting and facilitate crucial citizen-to-citizen communication. Read more

Cyber Mapping, Anniston, AL

 in Engagement

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

 in Engagement

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

Invisible Boundaries: Communities of Choice, Fort Lauderdale, FL

 in Race Relations

Invisible Boundaries: Communities of Choice, Fort Lauderdale, FL 2000 

Partners:

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
CBS 4 and Newsradio 610

The partners documented the way massive social changes have swept aside the traditional definition of “community” and replaced it with a patchwork of affiliations, raising serious issues for civic institutions.

Though focused on the suburbs of South Florida, “Invisible Boundaries: Communities of Choice” was a story of our times – very much an exploration of the forest, not the trees. Read more