Tapping Civic Life: Reporting First, and Best, What’s Happening in Your Community, 1st Edition 

How To Report First, and Best, What’s Happening In Your Community

A PEW CENTER FOR CIVIC JOURNALISM WORKBOOK
PREPARED BY THE HARWOOD GROUP

FOREWORD

INTRODUCTION

NINE IDEAS FOR STRENGTHENING JOURNALISM
Tapping Civic Life  is divided into two main sections, followed by an assessment worksheet.

I. WHAT CIVIC LIFE OFFERS JOURNALISTS
Lays out four civic life frameworks that form the foundation for this work and can be used as a newsroom reference.

• #1 EXPLORING THE LAYERS OF CIVIC LIFE. 
  Based on the Wichita experience and other Harwood Group projects, there are five layers of civic life that journalists will want to explore and understand. 
• #2 MAKING SENSE OF DIFFERENT AREAS. 
  Not all neighborhoods or areas of a community are the same. In this framework, The Harwood Group highlights important insights from Wichita and how journalists might distinguish the nature of different areas in a community. 
• #3 IDENTIFYING TYPES OF COMMUNITY LEADERS. 
  Often leaders are primarily thought to be elected officials, but within a community there are at least four key types of leaders who are important for journalists to engage when tapping into a community’s civic life. 
• #4 ENGAGING PEOPLE DIFFERENTLY. 
  Tapping into a community’s civic life is about more than showing up at new places and listening. Journalists must engage people to gain a deep understanding of their lives, concerns, and how they relate to community life.

II. WHAT JOURNALISTS CAN DO TO TAP CIVIC LIFE
Outlines a step-by-step approach to help journalists find their community’s civic life and understand the implications of tapping into it.

• Step #1: Where to Explore?
• Step #2: Newsrooms Conversations
• Step #3: Civic Leader Interviews 
• Step #4: Tapping Catalysts
• Step #5: Conversation with “Citizens”
  • Conversations with “Citizens” (Part 2)

APPENDIX: IS THIS THE RIGHT TIME?
Provides an assessment worksheet to figure out if now is the right time to pursue this work in your newsroom.

ABOUT THE HARWOOD GROUP/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Throughout the workbook, journalists will find three kinds of sidebars to help them tap their community’s civic life.

MOVING AHEAD. Guideposts and cautions for newsroom efforts when tapping into civic life.

JOURNALISTS’ CHALLENGE. Challenges that journalists will face in implementing the approaches in the workbook.

THE WICHITA EXPERIENCE. Highlights of The Wichita Eagle’s  experience with tapping into its community’s civic life and how the Eagle pushed forward at key points.