Project Topic: Race Relations

Building Community from Diversity, Santa Ana, CA

6 Mar, 2002 in Race Relations

Building Community from Diversity, Santa Ana, CA 2002

Partners:

The Orange County Register, OCRegister.com
Excelsior
Myoc.com

Reporters developed a deep understanding of the Latino population in the Santa Ana readership area with a community mapping project that included a phone survey, an academic cultural study and a dynamic database of sources structured to stay useful even as reporters move on and off the beat.

The Register announced its mapping project to the community with fliers sent to 750 Santa Ana community groups and through messages sent to community email networks. Then a team of two project leaders, two reporters and a news assistant began the process of in-depth, face-to-face interviews with 100 community members. They also compiled detailed lists of “third places” in the community, where people go to attend to issues important to them and their families and neighborhoods.

Talking Race: A New Approach, Dallas, TX

6 Mar, 2002 in Race Relations

Talking Race: A New Approach, Dallas, TX 2002

Partners:

WFAA-TV (ABC)

In “Talking Race: A New Approach,” WFAA wanted to do just that – try something entirely new in encouraging discussions about race. Intrigued by the concept of “video boxes” – portable, self-contained, user-activated TV cameras that have shown an ability to elicit amazingly candid remarks – the station placed its version of the devices in shopping malls in the Dallas area and asked people two questions: What do you think of race relations in America? When did you become most aware of race?

Under One Roof, Washington, D.C.

6 Mar, 2001 in Race Relations

Under One Roof, Washington, DC 2001

Partners:

Black Entertainment Television (BET),
BET.com

After decades of reporting about the African-American family by white news organizations or think tanks, BET – Black Entertainment Television – tackled the subject in a civic journalism project that combined the forces of the popular cable service’s new newscast and its online division, BET.com. “Under One Roof” was a year-long project that included weekly reports on BET Nightly News tied to interactive features on the Web site.

Bridges to the New California and The World According to Young People, San Francisco, CA

6 Mar, 2001 in Race Relations

Bridges to the New California and The World According to Young People, San Francisco, CA 2001

Partners:

Pacific News Service
New California Media/a>
KALW-FM
San Francisco Chronicle

The partnership gave wider circulation, through the Chronicle’s Sunday edition and through KALW programs, to the diverse ethnic and youth voices gathered by two of the Pacific News Service’s major projects: New California Media and YO! Youth Outlook.

The New California Media (NCM) project distilled the major stories in dozens of ethnic newspapers in the Bay Area, papers such as the Sing Tao Daily, Iran Today, India West, and Philippine News. Beginning in April 2001, the Chronicle ran articles from NCM under a sig called “Bridges to the New California.”

Neighbor to Neighbor, Cincinnati, OH

15 Feb, 2001 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.

Invisible Boundaries: Communities of Choice, Fort Lauderdale, FL

6 Mar, 2000 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.

Race in the Yakima Valley, Yakima, WA

6 Mar, 2000 in Race Relations

Race in the Yakima Valley, Yakima, WA 2000

Partners:

Yakima Herald-Republic

Immigration has boosted the Hispanic presence in Yakima to 37 percent of the total population. The paper explored the resulting tensions and benefits in a seven-day series, “Race in the Yakima Valley,” Dec. 10-16, 2000. Reporters and editors worked with an ethnically diverse advisory committee to develop questions for a survey of 400 Hispanic and 400 non-Hispanic Yakima area residents. The paper also convened two focus groups.

Focus on the Ethnic Voter and Bay Area Bridges, San Francisco, CA

6 Mar, 2000 in Race Relations

Focus on the Ethnic Voter and Bay Area Bridges, San Francisco, CA 2000

Partners:

Pacific News Service/New California Media

Pacific News Service seized the 2000 presidential and local California elections to demonstrate the growing political clout of ethnic voters and, in the process, created new outlets for diverse voices in the mainstream media.

Pooling the resources of 100 ethnic newspapers and broadcast stations in the Bay Area, Pacific News Service started New California Media in 1996 to circulate stories among its members. Pew funding allowed the nascent service to step up activities during the election and focus on the impact of ethnic voters.