The Voters’ Voice, New Hampshire 1997
Partners:
New Hampshire Public Radio
The Keene Sentinel
The Portsmouth Herald
UPI of New Hampshire
Inspired by the success of its election year project, “Voter’s Voice,” New Hampshire Public Radio sought citizen participation in coverage of non-election issues through a series of “Citizens Exchange” meetings in different communities, in association with local newspapers.
The network began the project in early 1997, with a series of call-in shows from its Concord studios, where citizens asked questions of the new governor, their congressmen and senators and engaged in discussions of campaign finance reform, race relations and health care issues.
NHPR then took the show on the road. The first stop was the Nashua Public Library on May 12, where about 90 citizens participated in a forum with the governor. The forum was taped and aired the next morning and again the next evening. It was also broadcast on Media One and stories ran in the Telegraph. Later forums allowed citizens to question other key elected officials about a wide range of issues.
Contact:
Mark D. Handley
President/General Manager
New Hampshire Public Radio
207 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301-5003
TEL: (603) 226-0850
FAX: (603) 224-6052
EMAIL: mhandley@nhpr.org
Maine Citizens Campaign ’96, Portland, ME 1996
Partners:
Portland Newspapers Inc.
Maine Public Broadcasting Network
WGME-TV (CBS)
The “Maine Citizens Campaign” followed a group of about 40 residents of Sanford, ME, a neglected mill town as they deliberated the issues and interviewed candidates in the 1996 campaign. Conceived as a way for the partners to get more citizen voices into their election coverage, the project took on a life of its own as the citizens became empowered by the process and tried to become an action group.
The partners chose to base the project in Sanford after studying past elections and demographics that suggested the town would be representative of the state. They then surveyed 300 residents and followed up with phone interviews of 70 respondents to form the core group. Members met 16 times – eight all together and eight in smaller groups – to become educated on issues and develop questions for candidates.
The partners had hoped to attract all or most of the presidential candidates to meet with the group but only Republican hopeful Senator Richard Lugar appeared. The citizens also interviewed senate and congressional candidates.
Stories about the group’s meetings ran in the paper and on TV and radio from November 1995, when the group first began to meet, through the November 1996 election. The partners also used the Sanford citizens to get voter comments into routine election coverage.
When the election was over, the citizens decided to continue meeting with the goal of starting a project of their own. The paper continued to provide assistance and occasionally cover activities. WGME produced a half-hour documentary on the group’s second anniversary. The group eventually dissolved but individual members went on to participate in local government.
The project led the newspaper to hire a full-time community coordinator, Jessica Tomlinson, to connect with citizens for civic journalism efforts.
Contacts:
Jeannine Guttman
Editor and Vice President
The Portland Newspapers
390 Congress St.
Portland, ME 04104
Phone: (207) 780-9000
Email: jguttman@portland.com
Jessica Tomlinson
Online Community Organizer
MaineToday.com
50 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
TEL: (207) 822-4072
FAX: (207) 879-1042
EMAIL: Jessica@mainetoday.com