Making a Big Splash, Watching it Ripple Back
By Jeannine Guttman In March 1997, three reporters and a photographer were asked to answer a simple question: What is the impact of alcohol abuse in Maine? The team was directed to use two powerful reporting tools: Database reporting to quantify the impact of the problem in Maine. Public journalism frames to produce detailed interviews […]
Reaching Out to Readers: They Do Notice
By Dennis Foley Ombudsman The Orange County Register SANTA ANA, Calif. – The religious leaders had traveled this path before and were reluctant to do so again: A reporter had come calling, asking their perspectives on a news event in the community. Several refused, citing unhappy past experiences with the media. Other were guarded but […]
Civic Journalism Network
A steering committee to create a national Civic Journalism Network held its inaugural meeting in April at the ASNE convention. The effort is being spearheaded by Chris Peck, editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, with the support of the Pew Center and civic journalists around the country. “This is an idea that has become popular at many […]
Journalism Interactive Survey Pinpoints a Sea Change in Attitudes and Practices Engagement Defines New Era of Journalism
U.S. newspapers report dramatic changes in the way they define and cover news and even how they view their mission, a new survey of the nation’s top editors reveals. Key among the findings is that editors report a sharply increased appetite for more two-way connections with readers. Nine of 10 editors surveyed also say the […]
The Public Perspective
By Edward M. Fouhy Founder Pew Center For Civic Journalism March, 1996 – As journalists have again proven in this election year, their appetite for poll data — always hearty — has become well nigh insatiable. But many journalists are asking how well conventional survey research serves their readers and viewers and some are seeking a […]
News & Issues in Corporate Social Responsibility
By Edward M. Fouhy Founder Pew Center For Civic Journalism In newsrooms around the country a debate has begun about the basic qualities of good journalism. In a craft not given much to self-examination, the debate over a concept called civic journalism has prompted sharp reaction as journalists have examined their role in society. […]
John Siegenthaler Speech and Response
A Changing Culture in an Unchanging Challenge By John Siegenthaler The Freedom Forum The Lovejoy Convocation — Colby College, November 14, 1996 – To begin, let me state regrettably, that I do not possess a gift of eloquence adequate to express the honor I feel at receiving this award in the name of Elijah Parish Lovejoy […]
Public Journalism: Good or Bad News?
By Jennie Buckner Editor The Charlotte Observer At The Observer, Public Journalism is simply this. When writing about public life, we have a goal: To provide readers the information they need to function as citizens. Saturday, October 19, 1996, Page 19A – Until recently, I had not understood the depth of the American journalism establishment’s devotion to […]
“Keeping in Touch: Civic Journalism–Growing and Evolving”
By Ed Fouhy, Founder and Jan Schaffer, Executive Director Pew Center for Civic Journalism Nieman Reports, The Nieman Foundation At Harvard University, Winter 1995 – In Edgar, Wis., three women who used to hunker down to watch their afternoon TV soap operas now have become C-SPAN junkies, converts to a new cause of civic engagement. In Charlotte, N.C., […]
“The Best or Worst?
By Jan Schaffer Executive Director Pew Center for Civic Journalism Quill, May 1997 – Civic journalism. Why does it drive its critics to such condemnatory hysteria? Even as it leaves readers and viewers with such warmly favorable reactions? That paradox recurs throughout an unprecedented study of four very different civic journalism initiatives supported by the Pew […]