San Jose Mercury News KNTV (ABC) KPIX-TV (CBS) KIVE and KARA Radio Santa Clara Public Libraries Solid investigative journalism documented the problem of special-interest money corrupting the California State Assembly,but the Mercury News turned to civic journalism to ensure that its investigation had impact. At the end of its hard-hitting “Legislature for Sale” project, the […]

The Muncie Star-Press WLBC-FM When Indiana legislators met in 1999 to begin restructuring the state tax system, they had a good understanding of what their constituents thought about the issue, thanks to a booklet called “Hoosiers Talk Taxes,” the culmination of a yearlong project to inject citizen voices into the debate over tax reform. The […]

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 […]

New Hampshire Public Radio An estimated 30,000 residents, or more than 4% of the state’s registered voters, used their computers to access the radio station’s online calculator to see how proposed new tax bills would affect them. In addition, NHPR used the site as a reporting tool, monitoring a Feedback Zone and interviewing some of […]