Out of the Pressbox, onto the Field
By Edward M. Fouhy Executive Director Pew Center for Civic Journalism After a year’s work and more than 40 trips around the country, it has become apparent that civic journalism is no longer a fragile seedling struggling to stay alive. It has become a topic of conversation among both journalists and community activists, the phrase […]
Creating New Habits
To: WSOC-TV,Charlotte, N.C., for “Carolina Crime Solutions” which was awarded the prestigious 1995 Sigma Delti Chi award for Public Service in Television Journalism for networks and top 40 markets. To: The St. Paul Pioneer Press for its 10-week “Safer Cities” series, which received: The 1995 Frank J. Premack Memorial Award, which recognizes reporting of unusual […]
What’s Happening in Pew Center Projects
Peoria, Ill. PARTNERS: THE JOURNAL STAR, WMBD-TV(CBS),WMBD-AM, WTVP (PBS),WCBU-FM (NPR), ILLINOIS CENTRAL COLLEGE OF PEORIA AND BRADLEYUNIVERSITY The paper kicked off its “Leadership Challenge” coverage in January with a series of stories about the dearth of leaders. “Before, the staff had doubts about whether this was a story,” said managing editor Jack Brimeyer. “Now they […]
Civic Journalism: Part of the Solution
1996 Batten Awards Keynote Address Matthew V. Storin Editor The Boston Globe We are here to celebrate and examine what has come to be known as civic journalism or public journalism. I don’t know that I am comfortable calling any of what I do or my newspaper does anything but plain old […]
Defining Civic Journalism
Definitions from key panelists at the Dec. 9 workshop,”Civic Journalism Washington Style, Reporting Beyond the Beltway,” sponsored by the Pew Center, the Regional Reporters Association and the Freedom Forum in Rosslyn, Va. “In writing about public life, we provide readers with the information they need to be citizens. It’s more of a consumer approach to […]
Getting Down and Dirty with the Critics
I appear before you this morning resolved to be more contentious on the subject of civic journalism. A few weeks ago, at a meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors’ Change Committee in Columbia, S.C., Jay Rosen challenged editors to be more assertive in defending civic journalism from the recent outbreak of vitriolic, inflammatory, […]
Developing New Reflexes in Framing Stories
From remarks by Steve Smith, Editor, Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph, at the Pew Center/RTNDF workshop “Civic Journalism: Doing it Daily,” Chicago, March 15, 1997. In my view, how we frame stories may be the most important, undiscussed issue in our newsrooms. By training and practice, journalists frame their stories reflexively. Any veteran reporter knows, almost […]
Is Privatizing Tampa General Hospital Good for our Community?
By Ben Eason Editor, The Weekly Planet The focus of our public journalism efforts has been on framing issues. With our recent coverage of the privatization of our local hospital, we think we have come up with an effective framing process. The Tampa General Hospital board came up with a plan to take the […]
What is News? Broadening the Definition
Jeannine A. Guttman Editor, Portland Newspapers If you want to get a sense of how disconnected journalists can be from their communities, try explaining the concept of “news” to a reader. At a recent meeting in Portland, Maine, a group of journalists met with a Bowdoin College ethics professor to talk about our ongoing “Maine […]
Spokane’s Soapbox: A Guide To Civic Journalism
By Rebecca Nappi One late November day, the biggest ice storm in Spokane’s history happened. Frozen rain covered the trees, and breaking branches landed on power lines. About 100,000 homes in The Inland Northwest struggled for days without lights and electricity. On day two of the crisis, editors at The Spokesman-Review suggested that three residents keep journals […]