The Institute for Interactive Journalism

Minnesota Public Radio, Budget Balancer

http://news.mpr.org/features/2003/03/10_newsroom_budgetsim/

Runner-Up - $2,500

This 19-page web exercise offered users 62 different cost-cutting and revenue-raising options to reduce the state’s $4.2 billion budget deficit. MPR’s Balancer set itself apart from similar projects through a colorful presentation filled with charts and special windows featuring informative “Headlines” and “Look Out!” warnings that added context to the process. Seven thousand participants submitted 11,000 budgets during the project’s run of about two months. The project helped MPR attract a younger audience, one that usually doesn’t listen to public radio. Forty-three percent of the participants were age 30 or younger. Responses helped to guide MPR’s budget coverage to new topics.

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