A number of people played key roles in making Tapping Civic Life. Davis “Buzz” Merritt, editor of The Wichita Eagle, felt that journalists needed to understand better their communities and to learn to tap into them. He believed that the work done in Wichita could become a practical tool for journalists in covering their communities.
Ed Fouhy, executive director of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, was willing to invest in this venture and lent his unwavering support all the way through.
Jan Schaffer, deputy director of the Pew Center, played a key role in editing this workbook, providing insights for needed changes and guiding the publication process.
Wendy Kelly, of WLK Graphic Design, produced a terrific workbook and within a very tight timeline.
| The Harwood Group is a public issues research and innovations firm that works with public and private sector organizations to figure out the essence of public challenges and how to face them effectively. Much of the firms work centers on rebuilding public relationships and creating effective social change.
The Harwood Group had undertaken projects on various public issues, including education, youth, health care, economic development and change, the environment, science and technology, the political process, civic life and community development. The firms media projects include work with the American Society of Newspaper Editors Journalism Values Institute |
to explore journalistic values in a changing times; Knight-Ridder Newpapers on the coverage of public concerns in 1992 election; The Colorado Springs Gazette-Telegraph, The Orange County Register, The Virginian-Pilot, The Miami Herald, and The Tallahassee Democrat to develop principles and practices for understanding and engaging the public realm; and the Pew Center for Civic Journalism on the report: Americas Struggle Within: Citizens Talk About the State of the Union.
Other clients include: Georgia Health Decisions, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, CIVITAS/Center for Civic Education, The Pew Partnership for Civic Change, The Kettering Foundation, the US WEST Foundation, and the national Commission for the Renewal of American Democracy (Project Democracy). |