San Jose Mercury News KNTV (ABC) KPIX-TV (CBS) KIVE and KARA Radio Santa Clara Public Libraries “Common Ground” was an editorial page project designed to encourage public discussion on controversial topics and create public spaces where those discussions could occur. On its editorial and commentary pages, the Mercury News editorial board would publish lists of […]

Rochester Democrat andChronicle WXXI Public Television WOKR-TV (ABC) The partners focused on young people – their experiences, their views, their voices – for “Make Us Safe: Teens Talk about Violence.” First, they surveyed nearly 1,800 seventh through 12th graders in the Rochester area. They found that one-third thought their life would be shortened by violence, […]

The Sun News The partners proposed a project on race relations but found during the planning phase that racial division was just one of the problems facing the community as a result of extremely rapid growth. Broadening the focus of the project to “reconnecting,” the paper decided to seek reader input in determining what issues […]

Press & Sun-Bulletin WSKG Public TV and Radio WBNG-TV (CBS) SUNY-Binghamton With the Binghamton economy severely depressed and public spirits virtually crushed by the loss of jobs and services, the partners in 1996 launched “Facing Our Future,” a solutions-oriented journalism project with a built-in action component. Two years later, citizen action teams were still meeting […]

The Virginian-Pilot The Harwood Group For the 1996 elections, the paper completely re-imagined and refashioned campaign coverage, moving from traditional horse race coverage to the innovative (and, later, much-copied) concept of candidate as job applicant. Pew helped fund a new kind of poll that aided this coverage. Rather than a market-driven poll, the Harwood Group […]

WKRC-TV (CBS) The Community Press Chain of Suburban Weeklies Q102 and WNNK Radio An unusual partnership, with TV taking the lead and enlisting suburban weeklies rather than one large daily, “Voices of the People” sought, according to its mission statement, “to empower citizens by making sure their voices are heard and by showing their involvement […]

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, […]

Portland Newspapers Inc. Maine Public Broadcasting Network WGME-TV (CBS) The “Maine Citizens Campaign” followed a group of about 40 residents of Sanford, ME, a neglected mill town as they deliberated the issues and interviewed candidates in the 1996 campaign. Conceived as a way for the partners to get more citizen voices into their election coverage, […]

St. Paul Pioneer Press KARE-TV (NBC) Wilder Research Center Following up on the success of its “Safer Cities” project, the paper focused on intergenerational conflict with the eight-week, 14-part series “Across Generations: What Do We Owe Each Other?” First, a poll of 1,528 adults in the Twin Cities area showed some of the differences between […]

San Francisco Chronicle KQED-FM (NPR) KRON-TV (NBC) The partners in the two-year-old “Voice of the Voter” project decided to join forces for a non-electoral effort in 1996 and took on the issue of traffic congestion in “Unlock the Gridlock.” Some 1,500 people participated in five public forums held between May 1996 and April 1997, exploring […]

WTVT-TV (Fox) Weekly Planet Alternative Paper WMNF Community Radio Tampa Chapter of National Conference The partners sought to bring civic journalism to the Tampa Bay area through a series of four jointly sponsored town hall forums and the encouragement of smaller “kitchen table” discussions in citizens’ homes. The forums were aided by “Speak Up, Tampa […]

Tallahassee Democrat WCTV6 (CBS) Florida State University Florida A&M; Universities The third year of the “Public Agenda” project ended with a hand-off to the community. Over its three-year span, the project involved more than 1,000 people in 15 discussion groups. A final poll of 353 adults in the Tallahassee area showed the project appeared to […]

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 […]

Wisconsin StateJournal Wisconsin Public TV Wisconsin Public Radio WISC-TV (CBS) Wood Communication Group In the spring, a forum allowed citizens to question candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in “You Be the Judge,” broadcast from the high court’s chambers. Citizens got the chance to assess the performance, structure and financing of the state’s public university […]

The Charlotte Observer WSOC-TV (ABC) WPEG-AM WBTV (CBS) After the success of their major crime project, “Taking Back our Neighborhoods,” the media partners spent a year trying to incorporate the civic journalism principles they had learned into daily reporting. Applying such tools as polling, public forums, listening posts and community partnerships on a quick-turn-around time […]

Journal-Star WMBD-TV (CBS), WMBD-AM WCBU-TV (PBS), WCBU-FM (NPR) Illinois Central College Bradley University Noting a decline in civic leadership and community involvement, the partners embarked on “Leadership Challenge,” a project that met its ambitious goal of inspiring citizens to take leadership roles in the community. Designed from the beginning to become a community effort, the […]