In Search of the Innovators
Civic journalists around the country are engaged in an unprecedented level of creativity in their quest to invent the journalism of our future. They are challenging outmoded newsroom reflexes, redefining what is “news,” exercising new writing skills, and experimenting with new ways to engage readers, viewers and listeners. I see the development of a fresh […]
A Farewell
On January 1, 1998, Jan Schaffer was named executive director of the Pew Center for Civic Journalism. I handed over the tiller confident that the course we have charted together over the last five years is in good hands. The change in leadership at the Center will, I am sure, be seamless. As those of […]
Pew Center’s New Projects
The Pew Center’s Advisory Board has selected 13 civic journalism efforts to receive funding support in the coming year. The projects range from reporting on the ongoing depression in the Southern Olympic Peninsula’s timber and fishing industries, to defining the scope of unemployment and underemployment in Daytona Beach, to chronicling efforts to create a new […]
More New Videos
Three other new videos, each about 20 minutes long, have been produced by the Pew Center and are available for newsroom or classroom discussion. They are based on presentations given by editors at a Civic Journalism Retreat attended by 40 seasoned civic journalists in November 1997. The retreat was sponsored by the Pew Center and […]
What’s Happening in Pew Projects
Los Angeles, CA Partners: The Orange County Register, the Riverside Press-Enterprise, LA Opinion, KCBS, KCET-TV (PBS), KCRW-FM in Santa Monica, KPCC-FM in Pasadena, Orange County NewsChannel. The Southern California Voice of the Voter media coalition has hired a coordinator for “The Election Connection” project and will launch coverage on March 16 with poll results. Their […]
What’s Happening in Pew Projects
Los Angeles, CA Partners: The Orange County Register, The (Riverside) Press-Enterprise, the Spanish language daily La Opinion, KCET-TV (PBS), KCBS-TV, and National Public Radio affiliates KPCC, KCRW “The Election Connection,” this year’s “Voice of the Voter” project, found the partners deeply involved in the governor’s race and ballot initiatives throughout the spring. They put […]
Social Security: Up for Grabs
Did you know that: Congress has already raised the retirement age for some folks to 67? That most Americans don’t want the retirement age to be pushed back further. That most people think Social Security is on the verge of bankruptcy. And that most young people think the safety net won’t even exist for them. […]
Public Journalism Cited in Portland Purchase
That gust of air coming from the Maine coast is not the latest hurricane of the season. It is the staff of the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram exhaling in relief. In September, the newspapers were purchased by another independent, family-owned newspaper company, The Seattle Times Co. Independence and family ownership are not all the two newspaper […]
What’s Happening in Pew Projects
Portland, ME Partners: The Portland Newspapers, Central Maine Newspapers, WGME-TV (CBS), Maine Public Television, Maine Public Radio. The Maine Sunday Telegram launched the project in August with a poll and is publishing weekly reports. The new governor will be given a citizens’ agenda as a suggested road map for the next administration. “Beyond the Ballot: […]
Tune In Your Community. Turn On Your Viewers
The scene is powerful, unforgettable: A heart-broken mother tending the ruined shell of her once bright and promising young son; the son’s futile effort to communicate, to move more than his clear, blue eyes. It is the proverbial picture worth a thousand words about the dangers of drug abuse. This is what television does best […]