In the first half of 2011, NEastPhilly. com, a startup covering Northeast Philadelphia, led an investigative look into the corruption charges against former State Rep. John Perzel and how the allegations against him have affected the 172nd District. Perzel and three former staffers pleaded guilty in summer 2011 ahead of a September trial. He spent three decades in the state House, including a stint as a powerful Speaker of the House, and was known for bringing an impressive stream of state funding back to his district, most notably the Mayfair neighborhood.
“A slightly larger award and more reporting time would have yielded a more comprehensive project … but I wouldn’t go too much bigger or stretch the timeline too long. The quick turnaround helps with motivation and produces more results more quickly, which readers appreciate.”
– Shannon McDonald, founder of NEast Philly
The website follows the charges against Perzel through videos, articles, photographs and visual aids such as maps, graphs and an interactive timeline.
NEast Philly chose the project topics, coordinated the coverage and is publishing the bulk of the content. Philadelphia Neighborhoods.com, a project of Temple University, assigned four students to create a series of multimedia packages that have been incorporated into the report. Jim Smiley of the Frankford Gazette designed the landing page on NEast Philly’s site. The late-fall 2010 announcement of the awards meant that NEast Philly had to wait a few months for students to schedule around other classes, jobs and internships and be available to dig into the project.
NEast Philly founder Shannon McDonald said she liked that the terms of the Enterprise Reporting Awards were “left open for the partners to work out,” but she added, “$5,000 feels like a lot less once reporting begins.”
“A slightly larger award and more reporting time would have yielded a more comprehensive project … but I wouldn’t go too much bigger or stretch the timeline too long. The quick turnaround helps with motivation and produces more results more quickly, which readers appreciate,” she said.
One graphic on the website breaks down funding in Mayfair, a neighborhood that benefited greatly under Perzel.
