By: Vicki L. Duckett
J-Lab Staff Writer
April 15, 2003

W ith a sluggish economy and big job losses in Rochester's manufacturing base, it's no surprise that residents of this upstate New York region cited the local economy as their No. 1 priority in a regional poll.

The Democrat and Chronicle, however, isn't stopping with reporting poll results. It's trying a couple different ways to engage the community in "Fighting for Rochester's Future."

The initiative involves a traditional five-part newspaper series focusing on one topic per month. And in an ambitious effort - believed to be the first of its kind in the country - the news organization is creating an interactive exercise to accompany each installment.

The first installment launched on March 30 with a groundbreaking exercise inviting people to play city planner in the "Downtown Revitalization Game."

Reviving the downtown area, burnishing the city's image, cutting business costs and creating jobs are among the possible "solutions" identified, so far, in a Monroe County poll and in meetings with citizens.

Indeed, downsizing at Rochester's Big Three Ð Eastman Kodak Co., Xerox Corp., and Bausch & Lomb Inc. Ð helped push the regional job-loss rate 30 percent higher than the national average, says the state's Business Council. Still, many small and medium-size businesses are growing.

The "Downtown Revitalization Game" invites players to pretend they are an urban planner with $150 million in public money to invest in center city. Participants must click on drop-down tabs for the type of development they'd like to see, such as transportation or entertainment.

The tabs then offer players a menu of 19 different icons for specific projects that are planned or have been discussed. They range from a $110 performing arts theater to $5 million to develop the area around Kodak. "We included all the projects that have been proposed or planned recently," said New Media Editor Anthony Moor.

Click an icon to select a project, locate it on a map, and pop up the price tag on the upper right. The game keeps a running tally of the cost of your choices and alerts you when you've spent too much so you can reconsider. When you're ready, you can "Submit Plan."

More than 200 plans were submitted from the 500 visitors in the first two weeks, Moor said. "The plan is to tabulate the results and do a story on it."

The game was launched, in part, to provide another way for younger residents to take an interest in downtown development. Indeed, in one of the major findings of the poll, more than 70 per cent of the respondents said Rochester needed to create more jobs for young adults.

The development choices and the cost estimates were gathered by the paper's county reporter with input from the Downtown Development Corporation, Moor said.

The Democrat and Chronicle is partnering with WOKR-TV 13 (ABC), WXXI-TV and WXXI-AM public broadcasters in "Fighting for Rochester's Future."

The news reports, which have generated online chat groups, panel discussions and public debate, are a prelude to the election this fall of a new county executive, the first change in leadership in that position in eight years.

"We'll ask candidates for races such as county executive to share their views on these issues and the solutions coming from the community," said Karen Magnuson, editor of the Democrat and Chronicle.

Moor anticipates that the next installment will have a "completely different" interactive component. "We take on the testing controversy in New York State by providing sample test questions side by side with the pro and con positions on testing and stats on how testing is done in the schools."

It will accompany the installment on education, scheduled for April 27. Future topics will cover health care, targeted for May 18; public safety, on June 22; and taxes, on July 27.