About connecting with the reader.
Mike Fancher VP and Executive Editor The Seattle Times For years, we wrote about the right topics but in the wrong way — in ways that didn’t connect to the daily lives of our readers. So we didn’t give them the information that they needed, that they could use. Our definition of civic journalism […]
About bringing in all the players.
Michele McLellan Public Editor The Oregonian, Portland, OR Civic journalism can be an important ingredient in developing and improving our credibility. You get journalistic credibility by consistently demonstrating that you have expertise in the topics you’re covering. And you can’t have expertise unless you understand a variety of perspectives on issues and events. That […]
About creating compelling TV news.
Ramon Escobar Executive Producer, MSNBC Former News Director, WTVJ-TV, Miami We have embraced the concept that our community is expecting us to be smarter. We’re not a headline service. We’re here to give our community the information it needs to make important decisions. With that concept of civic journalism leading us, we’ve tackled some […]
About expanding our vision.
Raul Ramirez News Director KQED-FM, San Francisco Sometimes journalists are seen as being part of an unholy alliance with the powers that be. And we do suffer from a myopia simply because constant deadlines make it hard to get away from the bountiful sources of information that reside in government or corporate buildings. Civic […]
About re-invigorating coverage.
Gary Walker Vice President, News & Public Affairs WXXI-TV, Rochester, NY It was the 1993 mayoral election in Rochester that changed the way I approach journalism and has, frankly, kept me in this business. That election showed me that the news media can be essential to our civic lives and, if I may sound […]
About making ordinary concerns compelling.
Rosemary Goudreau Managing Editor Cincinnati Enquirer A lawyer friend of mine recently told me why he doesn’t read newspapers anymore. He said journalists always focus on conflict and seek out people who have extreme points of view. He thinks we leave out the people in the middle because “they’re boring.” Experience tells me he’s […]
About avoiding the extremes.
N. Christian Anderson III Publisher and CEO The Orange County Register In my mind, civic journalism and public service journalism ought to be synonymous. When I was publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, we wrote about a bond issue in the area’s largest school district. Voters had not been able to pass a […]
About rebuilding our credibility.
Jack Nelson Former Washington Bureau Chief Los Angeles Times In 1960, I received the Pulitzer Prize for my coverage of the Milledgeville (Georgia) State Hospital. At the time, it was the nation’s largest mental institution, with 12,500 patients and just 48 doctors. Conditions were deplorable. It was a snakepit, a warehouse for humans. My […]
Introduction
By Jan Schaffer Executive Director Pew Center for Civic Journalism What is civic journalism? How do you define it? Civic journalists around the country have no trouble defining it, quite eloquently, and giving specific examples to illustrate what they mean. As you will see, civic journalism, for these reporters, producers, editors and news directors, is […]
Community Impact, Journalism Shifts Cited in New Civic Journalism Study
[ Spotlight Archive ] [ Self-Nominate ] 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 […]