SPOTLIGHT

Study Measures Civic Journalism’s Impact

At least one fifth of all U.S. daily newspapers practiced some form of civic journalism between 1994 and 2001 — and their editors say it made a positive difference. Newspaper editors assert that their civic journalism increased public deliberation, civic problem solving, volunteerism and changed public policy.

See the Research

Civic Journalism: A Decade of Civic Innovation
See Jan Schaffer’s SPJ Headliner Presentation Fort Worth, TX. 2002.

J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism

The Pew Center has spun off into an exciting new initiative. J-Lab: The Institute for Interactive Journalism. J-Lab, based at the University of Maryland, helps news organizations use innovative computer technologies to develop new ways for people to engage in critical public policy issues. It also spotlights cutting-edge journalism through a new Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism.

Civic Journalism Archives

Pew Center funded projects, exhibits, reports and Batten Award entries are being archived at the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison for future research.

Women Editors: The Great Divide

Just one in 5 of the nation’s top female editors said they definitely wanted to move up in the news industry, and almost 1 in 2 (45%) are looking to change newsrooms or leave the business altogether. But this 2002 report by the Pew Center and API finds that the great divide in newsrooms is not between women and men, but between two subsets of women: the Career-Confident and Career-Conflicted. See the full report, “The Great Divide: Female Leadership in U.S. Newsrooms.” (PDF)