The News Tribune KCTS-TV (PBS) KPLU-FM The Washington state legislature was poised in January 2002 to limit lawsuits that could be brought by victims of crimes committed by prisoners on parole until a poll commissioned by the partners showed 90 percent of the state supported the victims’ right to sue. The measure was tabled, a […]

: The Spokesman-Review A team of reporters and editors used (and helped refine) civic journalism “mapping” tools to chart the key moments in the lives of children that can make the difference between success and failure in adulthood. Building on its “City of Second Chances” project, which told the story of Spokane’s expanding ex-felon population […]

The Daily World of Aberdeen Channel 20 TCI Cablevision Political, economic and environmental forces were changing life on the Southern Olympic Peninsula and its paper decided to help citizens join together to meet the resulting challenges. Partnering with cable channel 20 – the only station in the county – the Daily World launched “Changing Tides” […]

The Daily World Channel 20 TCI Cablevision In year two of their “Changing Tides” project, the partners attempted to bring together citizens and community leaders to craft solutions to the political, economic and environmental challenges the region faced. A March 1998 mail survey of 130 traditional community leaders – elected officials, educators, union leaders and others […]

The Herald KSER-FM Public Radio The paper’s “Waterfront Renaissance” project marked a new development in interactive journalism, marrying the credibility of the news organization with Web-based game technology that had previously been used mainly on advertising and entertainment sites. When the Herald set out not simply to inform but also to engage residents in the […]

  Yakima Herald-Republic Immigration has boosted the Hispanic presence in Yakima to 37 percent of the total population. The paper explored the resulting tensions and benefits in a seven-day series, “Race in the Yakima Valley,” Dec. 10-16, 2000. Reporters and editors worked with an ethnically diverse advisory committee to develop questions for a survey of […]

The Seattle Times KUOW-FM Radio KCTS Public TV KPLU-FM, Tacoma, WA Energized by their work together for the 1994 NPR election project, the partners used their newly formed “Front Porch Forum” alliance to tackle a number of issues facing the Seattle area. They held a joint forum on a new, multi-million dollar transit system and […]

The Seattle Times KUOW-FM Radio KCTS Public TV KPLU-FM, Tacoma, WA The “Front Porch Forum” partners solidified their initiative in their third year, hiring a project coordinator and engaging more than 2,000 citizens in forums, focus groups and polling. The project focused on the gubernatorial and congressional elections. An initial poll of 570 Washington residents, […]

Spokesman-Review One of the early innovators in developing and using civic journalism tools, the Spokesman-Review embarked on a project to foster their growth in other newsrooms. With Pew support, the paper hired an intern specifically to advance civic journalism outreach. During her year in Spokane, the intern worked with community groups, helped organize a forum […]

The Seattle Times KCTS KPLU-FM KUOW-FM With all the Seattle area had going for it in the mid-90’s, there was a sense that the region could not sustain its enviable quality of life into the 21st Century. The “Front Porch Forum” partners saw this as an opportunity to expand their civic journalism effort beyond politics […]

The Seattle Times KCTS KPLU-FM KUOW-FM Following up on the 1997 mock trial on growth in the Puget Sound, the partners confronted longstanding assumptions about the issue with a series called, “Growth: Enough already?” The mock jury in the 1997 “Puget Sound 2020” project had startled the partners by ignoring the common wisdom about growth […]

The Spokesman-Review, spokesmanreview.com Pew support allowed the paper to experiment with interactive on-line journalism tools that improved connections between reporters and readers and users. One of the most successful tools was an automated email system that was being widely used by reporters and editors within months of being created in early 2002. The system allows reporters […]