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This is an archived site of work by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism from 1994 to 2002. More about the Pew Center here. The Pew Center spun into J-Lab: the Institute for Interactive Journalism in 2002. For more information, contact us.

Redefining Disenfranchised Communities, Philadelphia, PA 2001 Partners:

WHYY-TV 12 (PBS)
WHYY-FM

The station held two focus groups, one with labor union members and one with victims of catastrophic illness, in an effort to redefine the concept of community – away from geography and demography, toward areas of shared concerns. Participants included men and women from different neighborhoods as well as different racial and ethnic groups.

The station found that, indeed, despite their varied backgrounds, participants shared common needs and concerns that were not always served by the media. The focus groups generated a number of story ideas and frames for covering these communities in a more meaningful way. The information was not used to produce news stories, as had been hoped, however, because the station found funding was insufficient to cover production costs.


Contact:

Paul A. Gluck
VP & Station Manager
WHYY-TV
150 N. 6th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Phone: (215) 351-2003
Email: pgluck@whyy.org