Getting the Public Back into Public Hearings
“Something to Talk About” can run as a horizontal or vertical graphic. It can stand alone or accompany a story. “The public hearing is a great American tradition, firmly rooted in the notion that average folks ought to have a voice amid the policy-making,” Wichita Eagle editor Rick Thames told his readers last month. “Unfortunately […]
Three Winners Share Batten Award
The Asbury Park Press found houses sold for inflated prices. The Sun probed the process of learning to read. Idaho journalists uncovered a dramatic increase in non-violent offenders in prison. The Asbury Park (NJ) Press, The Baltimore Sun and a coalition of Idaho newspapers and television stations received the 1998 James K. Batten Award for Excellence in Civic Journalism at an award symposium and […]
Congratulations to…
KVIA-TV, Channel 7, El Paso. Its extensive overage of race relations in collaboration with the El Paso Times received the prestigious Governor’s Award from the Arizona Chapter of the Nation al Academy of Television Arts and Science. In citing “The Survey of Race Relations in El Paso” for television excellence, Chapter President Marvin Palmer said the Emmy […]
St. Paul, San Francisco and Portland News Organizations Win 1999 Batten Award
The St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Portland Press Herald/ Maine Sunday Telegram and KRON-TV, San Francisco’s NBC affiliate, shared the 1999 James K. Batten Award for Excellence in Civic Journalism for innovative efforts that produced in-depth journalism and paved the way for the news organizations to play new roles in their communities. The three news organizations split the […]
Savannah, Philadelphia, New Hampshire Share Batten Award for News, Editorial, Online Initiatives
The Savannah Morning News split this year’s James K. Batten Award for Excellence in Civic Journalism with a Philadelphia election project and a New Hampshire interactive tax series in a competition that showcased the striking range of civic journalism evolving around the country. “The winners – the Savannah Morning News for ‘Aging Matters,’ The Philadelphia Inquirer for ‘Citizen Voices ’99’ and […]
Kent State to Host 2001 Batten Awards
Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, has been selected by the James K. Batten Advisory Board to host the 2001 Batten Awards for Excellence in Civic Journalism with a proposal for an accompanying symposium focusing on “Media and Democracy: Civic Journalism in a Digital Age.” The awards program will be held on April 19, 2001 […]
Congratulations to …
The Herald, Everett, WA, for “Waterfront Renaissance,” which allowed Internet users to click on development choices. It was one of three finalists for the online service-journalism award from the Online News Association and Columbia University. New Media Editor Mark Briggs said, “We offered our readers a tool that allowed them to communicate with us.” The Lawrence […]
Ratings Game
Score 1: The Philadelphia Eagles may have beaten the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday night, Oct. 2, but a town meeting on Charlotte’s ABC affiliate, WSOC-TV, beat them both. Who says television ratings suffer when a station airs public journalism programs in prime time? Mike Kronley bet otherwise. The WSOC news director scheduled the third Carolina […]
Ratings: A Runaway Winner
By Tom Bier News Director, WISC-TV (CBS) Madison, Wis. The topic – land use – may have sounded a bit flat. But, “We the People, The Search for Common Ground,” a civic journalism initiative by “We the People, Wisconsin” media partners was a runaway winner in its July time slot for both WISC-TV and […]
When Citizens Asked the Questions, Viewers Tuned In
A healthy share of viewers tuned in to televised political forums last fall where real people asked real questions about real problems. Here are three examples of how substituting citizen panels for reporters at these candidate forums brought big ratings boosts for the television sponsors. In Boston . . . Disappointed with viewership of five […]