Students See Value in Civic Mapping
By Judi Hetrick Miami University, Ohio Assistant English Professor Like other small journalism education programs, we focus on the basics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Our students are smart. They get a strong liberal arts foundation in four years here. And we teach enough reporting, writing and editing skills to launch them into careers. […]
Three Models of Schools Coverage
A Philadelphia Daily News Web site launched in September is providing critical information and venues for parents and teachers to communicate at a time when the city faces tough decisions about its failing education system. A town hall sponsored by two daily newspapers and eight television stations in Tucson, AZ, drew an audience of 300 and prompted […]
E-mail Swiftly Localizes WTC Attack
By Ken Sands The Spokesman-Review Interactive Editor It was a devastating national tragedy with significant local impact. Hundreds of local readers and viewers had personal connections to people affected by the Sept. 11 terrorism on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. In Spokane, Barbara Green was frantic about her daughter, an American Airlines flight […]
Ten Tips for Rebuilding Community
By Jan Schaffer Pew Center, Executive Director For the American Press Institute Amid the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, the news media have served as critical touchstones, helping to unify a nation of individuals in both rage and resolve. Let’s be mindful, however: Journalists, in times of national crisis, have a special role […]
Delving into Race Reporting
The Marshall News Messenger is a small paper, circulation 8,000, in a small east Texas town but its 1999 project “Twelve Questions on Race” was a big idea. In a town where factories segregated their shifts and some whites used the Confederate flag to keep the light out of windows, a project addressing race did not get […]
Civics Physics: Energy Matters in NH Effort
By Jon Greenberg Senior Editor New Hampshire Public Radio Media collaborations are old hat but in New Hampshire, a different sort of partnership is taking shape. The familiar faces of public radio and television and local newspapers form one branch of the partnership. A research arm draws on the skills of a public-policy center, a […]
New Views on Old Wire Stories
By Cheryl Gibbs Assistant Journalism Professor Earlham College, Richmond, IN After U.S. bombs started dropping in Afghanistan, Texas newspapers helped readers get a picture of the country’s size by reporting that it is slightly smaller than their home state. In Seattle, newspapers used the same comparison – probably because it’s in the CIA World Factbook, […]
Lawrence, KS: Common Ground on Growth
By Pat Ford Staff Writer Pew Center Residents of Lawrence, KS, long polarized over how the university town is growing, found some common ground during a six-month project launched last spring by the Lawrence Journal-World, 6News and World Online. Meanwhile, the three news organizations, owned by the same company but long riven by competitiveness, also learned […]
Interactive Game Totes Energy Costs
By Thomas W. Still Associate Editor Wisconsin State Journal It began with a “What if?” question that seemed like a pipe dream and well beyond the capabilities of a bunch of low-tech journalists. “What if,” the partners in We the People/Wisconsin asked, “there was a computerized exercise to help citizens make choices about the kind […]
Idaho Partners Spotlight Ailing Rural Areas
By Pat Ford Staff Writer Pew Center When four Idaho newspapers and public and commercial television set out to tell about the state’s ailing rural areas, they conducted a poll and gathered extensive facts about the economy, federal aid, public policy and population changes. But nothing seemed to bring home rural Idaho’s crisis like Dick […]