KUT-FM (Public Broadcasting) University of Texas The Austin American Statesman When KUT decided to develop a local news program, its director saw an opportunity to create a “civic” newsroom, building his operation from the ground up with the principless of civic journalism in mind. Pew funding allowed the station to research the community-its make-up and […]

KTVU-TV (Fox), KTVU.com SFGate.com, San Francisco Chronicle The partners received funding for a project about the hidden costs of the affluence that accompanied the Bay Area’s high-tech boom only to have the boom implode before the project ever got started. The result was a series charting and explaining the region’s master narrative as it was happening. “After […]

Community Newspaper Co. Funds were returned when the company was acquired by Herald Media and the editors who proposed the project departed.

WTVJ-TV (NBC) The Miami Herald Ocean Drive Magazine The WTVJ news department made coverage of the environment a top priority, launching EcoWatch on Earth Day in March 2001. Pew funding allowed the station to partner with The Miami Herald and its Sunday magazine to reach out and engage the community in its effort. In addition […]

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 […]

WTHR-TV (NBC) The Indianapolis Star WFYI-TV While lobbyists roam state legislatures, tracking bills and wining and dining lawmakers, ordinary citizens are left out of the process by the simple business of living their lives. “The People’s Agenda” was an effort to restore balance to the process by making sure legislators knew what people wanted and […]

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette KDKA-TV KDKA-AM Pennsylvania Newspapers Association The Pennsylvania legislature passed a new, more liberal open-records law in the summer of 2002 after a 10-month effort by the partners to encourage citizens to use public records to make government accountable and accomplish community goals. Post-Gazette editor Jane Elizabeth did not give the project full credit […]

Nycitizens.org and public television stations WXXI, WPBS, WCNY, WNET, WLIW, WMHT, WCFE, WSKG, WNEDWNED Nine public television stations collaborated on NYcitizens.org, a Web site dedicated to helping New Yorkers understand and become engaged in the process of redrawing congressional districts through an online game and other interactive features. The partners launched the Web site in the fall of 2001 as the state […]

The News-Star, newsstar.com Louisiana Tech University Grambling State University SPJ Lincoln Collegiate Chapter The paper used civic mapping to explore why more than a quarter of Monroe’s fourth- and eighth-grade public school students had failed high-stakes state math and reading tests. The project generated an outpouring of community help for local schools. The News Star focused […]

Savannah Morning News WSOK-AM The paper brought together 60 citizens in August 2000 as the first step in its project on Savannah’s failing public schools. The 39,000-student district was among the worst in the nation. It had gone through three superintendents in five years, the school board was fighting with the governor over school reform, […]

The Arizona Daily Star Tucson Citizen KVOA-TV (NBC) KOLD-TV (CBS) KGUN-TV (ABC) KUAT-TV (PBS) KWBA-TV (WB) KMSB-TV (Fox) KTTU-TV (UPN) KHRR-TV (Telemundo) KUVE-TV (Univision) This unusually comprehensive partnership – involving all of Tucson’s major media – joined forces for “Teaching Tucson’s Children,” a project on improving local public schools that culminated in a town hall […]

Philadelphia Daily News, philly.com At the height of a crisis in Philadelphia public schools, the paper launched a rich, online source of information to encourage parent involvement and public problem-solving. SchoolNet included a wide range of features. There was contact information for district offices to help parents navigate a sometimes-convoluted bureaucracy. There was a grade-by-grade breakdown […]

Herald & Review WILL-TV (PBS) WILL-AM “Dropping Out: Why students leave Decatur schools” was a civic journalism project that involved citizens, including those who’d never finished high school, in developing ideas to help keep students in school through graduation. In November 2001, the partners commissioned a survey of 102 adults who had dropped out of […]

KGW-TV (NBC), KGW.com Portland Tribune Beaverton Valley Times Tigard Times Gresham Outloo Clackamas Review As elected planning officials in the Portland area began seeking public input on a long-term growth plan, the media partners launched a project to inform citizens and engage their interest in the process. “Your Neighborhood, Your Future” included dozens of TV and […]

The Sun News Myrtlebeachonline.com Coastal Carolina University With Myrtle Beach becoming the fastest-growing relocation destination in the nation, the paper gave residents a chance to try their hand at managing growth in the region with an interactive Web-based game, similar to the model pioneered by The Herald in Everett. “Chart the Strand’s Future,” a feature […]

La Crosse Tribune This project examined the hazards of stray voltage – electrical current that leaks from power lines – for farms and livestock through a series of newspaper stories and a dedicated Web site that drew comments and questions from around the world. The stories, looking at causes, effects and possible solutions of stray […]

The Idaho Statesman Idaho Spokesman-Review Lewiston Morning Tribune (Idaho Falls) Post Register KTVB-TV (NBC in Boise) Idaho Public Television The news organizations gave a statewide scope to the problems of rural Idaho with their collaboration on “Rural Idaho: Challenged to Change,” a five-part series that ran simultaneously in all four papers, and as a three-part […]

The Herald-Dispatch West Virginia Public Broadcasting WMUL-FM The out-migration of young people from West Virginia was as accepted as the export of its coal until the partners explored the consequences in “Home for Good,” a project that included a six-part newspaper series, radio reports, a televised public forum and an interactive Web site. One of […]

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 […]

Pacific News Service New California Media/a> KALW-FM San Francisco Chronicle The partnership gave wider circulation, through the Chronicle’s Sunday edition and through KALW programs, to the diverse ethnic and youth voices gathered by two of the Pacific News Service’s major projects: New California Media and YO! Youth Outlook. The New California Media (NCM) project distilled […]

Black Entertainment Television (BET), BET.com After decades of reporting about the African-American family by white news organizations or think tanks, BET – Black Entertainment Television – tackled the subject in a civic journalism project that combined the forces of the popular cable service’s new newscast and its online division, BET.com. “Under One Roof” was a […]

The Cincinnati Enquirer, WCET-TV (PBS), WCPO-TV (CBS), WKRC-TV (ABC), WLWT-TV (NBC), Kettering Foundation, National Issues Forum A year of extraordinary racial tension in Cincinnati in 2001 prompted an extraordinary response by the city’s media, led by the Enquirer, which collaborated on a project that involved 2,000 local residents in solutions-oriented conversations about race. The paper […]

Star-Gazette WETM-TV (NBC) WSKG-FM, WSKG-TV A year-long project looked at the impact of the region’s higher-than-average cancer rate and the steps citizens can take to prevent the disease. Monthly installments in the paper, each focusing on a different aspect of the disease, were complemented by radio and television news segments and special TV programs as […]

Lawrence Journal-World 6News J-W Web Works With “Lawrence is Growing,” the partners helped citizens of the university town, long polarized on the issue of growth, find common ground and make concrete proposals to public officials on how to manage growth. The six-month project began April 15, 2001, with a three-week series about the history of […]

Bangor Daily News The Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy University of Maine A six-part series on leadership identified the most active behind-the-scenes community leaders in the Bangor area, what traits they held in common and the importance of their work to the life of the community. The paper began the project by compiling […]

MaineToday.com The online service, the portal for the Portland Press Herald, the Morning Sentinel, the Kennebec Journal and WMTW Broadcasting, built and customized an innovative software system that allows community groups to generate content. MaineToday originally received funding to use existing KOZ software to improve opportunities for citizens to contribute news, responses and questions to […]

Missoulian Using modest Pew funding, Missoulian reporter Rob Chaney refitted three government surplus computers to become portable polling kiosks, suitable for gathering instant reaction to news events or for determining which issues voters are most interested in. Software installed in the computers allowed Chaney to program in survey questions on any topic and choose the […]

Lincoln Journal Star Nebraska Public Television KMTV (CBS) The partners launched a project on the ethical questions surrounding research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after the surprise disclosure that the facility was using fetal tissue in its labs. A statewide poll of 323 adults found most generally supported the kinds of research the […]

San Antonio’s Spanish-language television station made history in May 2001 by integrating viewers into its newscasts through Web cameras in their homes. The feature, “Teledirecto TV,” was incorporated into regular newscasts at 5 p.m. and 10 p.m. to add the voice of ordinary citizens to those of experts and politicians on stories that impact the […]