Civic Journalism: Six Case Studies
MADISON, WIS.
"We the People, Wisconsin"

A Chronology and Lessons Learned

Town hall meetings to frame the discussion were conducted simultaneously in Wausau and Beloit, Wisconsin, and St. Paul, Minnesota. Then they were linked together for a 90-minute live town hall meeting with Bill Clinton in Indianapolis and Jerry Brown in St. Paul. Described by one organizer as "a high-tech house of cards waiting to tumble," the complex town halls included the use of electronic voting cards. The hand-held devices, similar to a remote control, were used by participants in the preliminary town hall meetings to prioritize issues and answer questions. St. Paul Pioneer-Press and KTCA, Channel 2, the Twin Cities' public television affiliate, initiated the event and invited the Wisconsin media partners. The evening was sponsored by a half-dozen corporations, foundations and Beloit College.

Lesson: To get a quality discussion, give participants an opportunity to work together as a group before they meet with candidates. Under the "We the People" model, citizens start with a "venting" session that leads to their prioritizing issues and framing sample questions. "It started as instinct and became conscious practice," recalled Iverson.

Lesson: You have to be highly organized and highly flexible at the same time.

Results: Mike and Sherie Johnson of Milton, Wis., both HIV-positive, asked the candidates if they would take an AIDS test. Brown hemmed and hawed, but Clinton said he would. Since then, the Johnsons, whose infections can be traced to a former girlfriend of Mike's, have spoken to thousands of Wisconsin school children about the dangers of unprotected heterosexual sex.

Lesson: Watch out for stacked town hall meetings. Candidates and single-issue proponents will try to bring in their supporters. Veteran political observers Still and Wood recognized several such proponents at the preliminary town halls. They were allowed to participate at the preliminary events, but were told they would not be welcome for the televised event. "We do like to maintain some control over who's really there in the final analysis," Still said.

Results: Statewide headlines out of that debate dispelled the myth that civic journalism is a boring exercise in political participation.

Spring 1993
Wisconsin Superintendent of Schools Race
Approximately 250 participants.

Town hall meetings in Milwaukee, Madison, Appleton and Platteville led to the April 2 debate between John Benson and Linda Cross, candidates for an office that has a major impact on the children of Wisconsin. This was the first effort to take "We the People" to the state government level.

Lesson: It is possible to generate interest in a traditionally low-profile race. While it cannot be scientifically attributed to "We the People," voting turnout in this race was 25 percent higher than previous years. Also, the value of pre-event promotion cannot be overrated. After the Kasten/Feingold debate, the "We the People" partners wondered if more publicity would improve attendance. With a low-profile race and two town halls scheduled for smaller towns this time around, pre-event promotion was even more crucial. "We were speaking at Kiwanis clubs, Rotary clubs, on 500-watt stations, speaking at schools, and to various community groups trying to explain who we were and why we were coming to town," Still said. He gauges success by the 75-person turnout in the farm community of Platteville.

Results: Organizers described the debate as a "defining moment" in the race, one that probably helped throw the election to Benson because of Cross's assertion that the state's largest teachers union and the state education department protected child molesters. Cross was gaining in the polls until that night, then started to slip back. Said Iverson: "She wasn't ready for prime time." It was the first time a real turning point in a campaign occurred during a "We the People" event.

After a town hall meeting in a state capitol hearing room, a panel of citizens from around the state sat in the legislators' chairs for a televised "hearing" with the governor and other expert witnesses seated below in the traditional witness area. The topic was a proposed property tax rate freeze. The panel focused on issues and questions developed during the town hall meeting.

Lesson: The setting can play an important role. Placing the panel of citizens on a raised platform and the "politician/experts" below them reinforced the idea that the participants were in control and the politicians were there to respond to them.

Wisconsin citizens gathered in record numbers at town hall meetings in Milwaukee and Madison to try their hand at reducing the federal deficit. During the July 23 televised program, two Wisconsin congressman were allowed to buttonhole the budget slashers to preserve their legislative programs. Participants were given budget worksheets and other materials to help in the decision-making process. During the final broadcast, the participants split into smaller groups to discuss a specific deficit issue as cameras and fish-pole mikes allowed the audience to follow along.

Lesson: It's possible to take an issue as complicated as the federal deficit and engage people and elected officials.