Civic Media

Whether it's citizen reporting or professional reporting with a community conscience, civic media is one of the fundamentals of good journalism.

Turning The Camera Around: Health Care Stakeholders

http://www.npr.org/news/specials/2009/hearing-pano/

NPR

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Rather than taking pictures of the Senate members at a hearing, an NPR photographer took a panoramic picture of the crowd that attended.  NPR then asked its listeners to identify lobbyists and other individuals that had a stake in the outcome of the hearing.

The Chicago Tribune - From Here to Excellence

http://www.chicagotribune.com/edfund

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The Chicago Tribune takes an in-depth look at the Illinois public education system in this multi-part series that grew into a multimedia, participatory online presentation. The Tribune attacks the issue of how to revamp the system to help Illinois students compete in a global economy. With focus on specific targets, the series used extensive database research and interactive opportunities for the public to become involved in the debate.

Lawrence.com: Outstanding Efforts

http://www.ljworld.com/game/outstanding/

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Lawrence.com spotlights local youth baseball players with interactive, Flash-based “baseball cards.” Each card includes photos, vital stats and short biographies; some also feature audio interviews with the players. Community members can send in nominations for future featured players through an online form.

TheState.com - New Life for Five Points

http://www.thestateonline.com/news/flash/5pt/newdesign.html

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The State newspaper and TheState.com created this multimedia piece to show improvements in the works in Columbia, S.C. Detailed descriptions and graphics show changes being made to the streetscape and underground, while animated graphics detail the construction process, such as how to replace old, fragile pipes using a technique called “pipe bursting.”

washingtonpost.com - Block by Block, the Changing Face of Southeast

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/business/daily/graphics/stadium_081505/

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To show the increasing property value and the number of real estate projects that have resulted from the proposed baseball stadium in Southeast Washington, D.C., washingtonpost.com created this informative graphic with a map overlaid on a satellite image of the area. Scrolling over the buildings and lots on the map brings up a box that tells what is in that location now, what is planned there in the future, who owns the real estate and how much it is worth.

WestportNow - Westport Teardowns Interactive Map

http://www.westportnow.com/index.php?/v2/teardowns/

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WestportNow created this clickable, movable map to chronicle the number of houses being bought, torn down and replaced with “McMansions” in this Connecticut town. Dragging the cursor over a green dot displays the address, a photo of the lot, a status update and its purchase price. Clicking a dot gives a larger photo and more details about the lot.

Topeka (KS.) Capital-Journal City Council Survivor Game

http://www.cjonline.com/webindepth/survivor/multimedia/survivor_mov.shtml

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Confronted with reporting on an unruly City Council, the Capital-Journal asked, “What if the Topeka City Council members were on the TV show ‘Survivor’...?” Those interested could go online and call Council members to account for their behavior by “voting” them off.
>Watch the promo for the game—in true Survivor style. (A QuickTime Movie)

"Plan Your Future Park"

http://www.gothamgazette.com/parksgame/

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New York City, NY—The Gotham Gazette’s newest interactive game, “Plan Your Future Park” lets you plan a city park, making choices that communities always have to face. Do you want dogs? Skateboarding? How will you prevent crime? In addition to selecting from “multiple choice” solutions, a message board allows users to communicate specific opinions and concerns. See article.

A Chilling Effect? Alaska's Heartland Reacts to the Patriot Act

http://www.uaf.edu/journal/extreme/Patriot/flash.html

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Journalism students at the University of Alaska Fairbanks put together this multimedia presentation about how Fairbanks residents feel about the USA Patriot Act and the continuing war on terror. Ten Fairbanks residents air their views through audio interviews, which are accompanied by short text articles, photos, and a flash introduction. The presentation also provides links to text of the act itself and related links to other sites on the subject.

Washingtonpost.com's Faces of the Fallen

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/world/iraq/casualties/facesofthefallen.htm

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“Faces of the Fallen” allows users to locate American soldiers who died in Iraq. Users can search by death date, military branch, or photograph. A summary about each soldier includes their name, age, rank, home town, as well as where they died and the events surrounding their death.

Investigating the Gap - Long Island Rail Road

http://www.newsday.com/gap

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Newsday.com investigated and produced this multimedia package unveiling the dangers of the Long Island Rail Road gap. View a timeline of accident reports from different stations and hear stories from the victims. Take a look at how the gaps are created and check the gap size at your station.

Personal Democracy Forum- techPresident

http://www.techpresident.com/

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A non-partisan group blog that examines how the 2008 presidential candidates are using the web. Site includes original reporting on topics including video-blogging, social networking, and tracks candidates’ online videos and number of “friends” on such sites at Facebook and MySpace.

Personal Democracy Forum- techPresident

http://www.techpresident.com/

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A non-partisan group blog that examines how the 2008 presidential candidates are using the web. Site includes original reporting on topics including video-blogging, social networking, and tracks candidates’ online videos and number of “friends” on such sites at Facebook and MySpace.

Politico: YOU Report

http://dyn.politico.com/youreport.cfm

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Politico, a publication of Capitol News Company LLC, is inviting all its registered users to submit their own political stories, keeping them under 1,000 words. Stories that are accepted for the Politico newspaper and Politico.com will appear on a designated YOU Report page.

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J-Lab helps journalists and citizens use digital technologies to develop new ways for people to participate in public life with projects on innovations in journalism, citizen media, news games, interactive stories, entrepreneurship, research, training, and publications

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