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 the community cared about most. In late summer of 1996, the paper distributed 3,000 neon yellow postcards, asking six open-ended questions, such as: What would you change about your community? What is going well in your community? What really makes you mad right now?
One of the things that people said made them mad were the town’s tack beachwear stores.
Similar questionnaires were printed on clip-and-send coupons in the paper. More than 300 residents responded, zeroing in on five key areas of concern: traffic, growth and development, elected officials, schools and the culture of the area. The informal survey led the paper to launch its 1997 project, “Living in a Boom Town,” which also received Pew support.
Contact:
Susan C. Deans (Former Sun News editor)
Asst Managing Editor/Weekends
Denver Rocky Mountain News
400 West Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80204
TEL: (303) 892-2386
FAX: (303) 892-2841
EMAIL: deanss@denver-rmn.com
John X. Miller (Former Sun News Managing Editor)
Public Editor
Detroit Free Press
600 West Fort Street
Detroit, MI 48226-3138
TEL: (313) 222-6803
EMAIL: miller@freepress.com