Study Measures Civic Journalism’s Impact
Community Impact, Journalism Shifts Cited in New Civic Journalism Study Washington, DC, November 4, 2002 — At least one fifth of all U.S. daily newspapers — 322 of the nation’s 1,500 dailies — practiced some form of civic journalism between 1994 and 2001, and nearly all credit it with a positive impact on the community, reports […]
ABOUT THE HARWOOD GROUP/ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
A number of people played key roles in making Tapping Civic Life. Davis “Buzz” Merritt, editor of The Wichita Eagle, felt that journalists needed to understand better their communities and to learn to tap into them. He believed that the work done in Wichita could become a practical tool for journalists in covering their communities.Ed […]
THE ASSESSMENT WORKSHEET
Definitely Yes, but… No Overall . . . Is this work a real priority for you? . . . Does the designated staff have the time for this work? . . . Are you willing to free up more time, if needed? . . . Tapping Civic Conversations and Spaces . . . Will you […]
Is This the Right Time?
Is This the Right Time? Deciding to find and tap into your community’s civic life can seem like good common sense, but not every newspaper should try it. To do it right takes time, energy and possibly some financial resources. It is an investment, and as with all investments, the timing must be right.While finding […]
NEWSROOM CONVERSATIONS
STEP #2NEWSROOM CONVERSATIONS Much knowledge about the community already exists within the newspaper and it is important to take advantage of that resource. To start the newsroom conversations, recruit a group of reporters, editors, researchers, librarians, and photojournalists. Some newsrooms may want to include people from advertising, circulation and other departments. (Not all of these […]
NEWSROOM CONVERSATIONS
STEP #2NEWSROOM CONVERSATIONS Much knowledge about the community already exists within the newspaper and it is important to take advantage of that resource. To start the newsroom conversations, recruit a group of reporters, editors, researchers, librarians, and photojournalists. Some newsrooms may want to include people from advertising, circulation and other departments. (Not all of these […]
Journalists’ Challenge
Journalists’ Challenge As America changes, so too does the definition of community. No longer do geographic lines alone drive the definition. Beyond exploring a particular geographically based neighborhood, some journalists may want to look into “communities of interest,” such as people concerned about a particular issue, those engaged with an avocation, users of the Internet. […]
WHAT JOURNALISTS CAN DO TO TAP CIVIC LIFE
What Journalists Can Do to Tap Civic LifePart A: Finding Civic Spaces The goal of this part of the workbook is to identify the sources who will lead journalists to key civic conversations and spaces in the community. There are three important parts to this work. GETTING STARTED Resources on the community exist right in […]
NINE IDEAS FOR STRENGTHENING JOURNALISM
TAPPING INTO A COMMUNITY’S roots can make your journalism more complete and compelling. That’s because it will allow reporters and editors to: GET IT FIRST Journalists will hear about events, trends, and people’s concerns long before they reach the community’s official world of politics and institutions, where they tend to get framed in official jargon […]
Engaging People Differently
Engaging People Differently This framework is about the principles and questions journalists will need to tap into civic life.By engaging people differently, journalists can enhance their ability to learn from civic conversations and produce stories for readers that have greater context, meaning and perspective. This will require, for instance, asking different kinds of […]