Congratulations…
To the Charlotte Observer, whose series “Taking Back our Neighborhoods,” examining problems and solutions in some of the city’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods, won a first-place public service award from the North Carolina Press Association. The articles have led more than 500 individuals and groups to offer help and triggered efforts to close down crack houses, demolish a […]
Congratulations…
To the Charlotte Observer . Its “Taking Back our Neighborhoods” series was named a Pulitzer finalist for public service. To WSOC-TV, Charlotte’s ABC affiliate. It won a prestigious Headliner Award from the Atlantic City Press Club for its “Carolina Crime Solutions.” To “We the People/Wisconsin.” It received the University of Wisconsin Extension’s “Wisconsin Idea” award in May and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association’s […]
Congratulations . . .
To the Manhattan Mercury, Manhattan, Kan., which received the Inland Innovation Award for public journalism experiments, presented in February by the Inland Press Association, for one of the paper’s first civic journalism efforts on Binge Drinking. The award recognizes innovation and forward thinking in newspaper content. And it recognizes newspaper public journalism initiatives that serve as […]
Congratulations . . .
Kim Alexander, executive director of the California Voter Foundation, received the James Madison Freedom of Information Award on March 14 from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California chapter, both for coordinating the “Your Voices Count” project and for creating the “San Francisco Online Voter Guide.” The Online Voter Guide gives citizens and journalists access […]
Utah Growth Summit Attracts Half-Million Citizens
By Ed Fouhy Pew Center’s Executive Director An estimated half a million Utah citizens – about a fourth of the state’s population – took part in the biggest civic journalism initiative so far, the Utah Growth Summit, Dec. 6-8. It focused on three perennial issues in the fast-growing states of the West – transportation, land […]
The James K. Batten Award Advisory Board Citations
The Charlotte Observer, “Taking Back Our Neighborhoods.” “The newspaper took an activist role by asking residents in the crime-ridden neighborhoods to report on the root causes of crime, and to participate in the search for solutions. This newspaper effort was grounded on unusually strong neighborhood-by-neighborhood reporting. The newspaper listened to and wrote about people whose […]
And the Batten Award Winners Are…
Three newspapers with three very different projects that engaged their communities were selected to share the first $25,000 James K. Batten Award for Excellence in Civic Journalism. The Charlotte Observer’s “Taking Back our Neighborhoods,” a 19-month in-depth series on crime in nine city neighborhoods, was called “an unprecedented community/newspaper approach to fighting crime,” by […]
Congratulations
James Fallows Breaking the News, How the Media Undermine American Democracy Washington Editor, The Atlantic Monthly When I first heard about the public/civic journalism movement, I was impressed with the similarity of spirit between the critique it offered and what the defense reformers had been trying to do. I believe, now, that there will be a […]
Congratulations…
To KCTS public television, which has been honored for its work as a partner in Seattle’s “Front Porch Forum” initiative, with the Jerry Schumacher Award for “Best Local Civic Journalism Program” from the Central Education Network, a consortium of public TV stations. Its award-winning program, “Listening to Washington,” aired last year and featured a series […]
Three Newspapers Split 1997 Batten Award
Three newspapers this year again shared the $25,000 James K. Batten Award for Excellence in Civic Journalism, for such wide-ranging initiatives as economic development, teen violence, and civic leadership. The Peoria Journal Star was cited for its project, “The Leadership Challenge,” a close-up examination of the dearth of political and civic leaders in the community. The Bradenton Herald in […]