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Civic Journalism Resources

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Journalism Interactive: New Attitudes, Tools and Techniques Change Journalism’s Landscape

U.S. newspapers report dramatic changes in the way they define and cover news and even how they view their mission, a new survey of the nation’s top editors reveals. Key among the findings is that editors report a sharply increased appetite for more two-way connections with readers. Nine of 10 editors surveyed also say the future of the industry depends on even more interactivity with readers.


Gaming the News: Building New Entry Points (Civic Catalyst Newsletter Spring 2002)

At KQED.org, visitors can “plan” their own small city. At NYcitizens.org, they can “redraw” New York’s congressional districts. While at TBO.com, they can click on a Tampa map and call up the major crimes in a selected neighborhood. These are just a few of the innovative ways that news organizations are using the Web’s interactive capabilities to move beyond simply providing information to engaging their audiences in actively analyzing and using information. Read the article.


Publications:

The Pew Center has produced a series of publications that explore various civic journalism theories and practices.

To order copies of these publications, please email news@j-lab.org

Civic Journalism: A Living Legacy

A 56-page look back at the last 10 years of civic journalism presented at the 2002 James K. Batten Awards and Symposium at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Includes stories on the award-winning projects, text from the panel discussions, keynote addresses and a fold-out timeline of defining moments.


Delving into the Divide: A Study of Race Reporting in Forty-Five U.S. Newsrooms

Part how-to and part case study, the book provides a roadmap for news organizations seeking to explore growing diversity in their communities. 108-pages.


Civic Journalism Is… True Stories from America’s Newsrooms

What is civic journalism? How do you define it? Twenty journalists from around the country give their answers in a new publication from the Pew Center. The booklet is a compilation of ads carried in major print and broadcast journalism magazines last year. In defining civic journalism, the reporters, producers, editors and news directors articulate a set of core values that guide how they practice their craft and provide texture and understanding to the work being done in the name of civic journalism. 24 pages.


Don’t Stop There! Five Adventures in Civic Journalism

Gain insight into how civic journalists ventured into some risky, complex and uncharted stories, only to be surprised by the turns they took. They engaged the community in difficult issues, and, in the process, engaged journalists in the community.


With the People . . . A Toolbox for Getting Readers and Viewers Involved

Edited by Jan Schaffer and Edward Miller
A 40-page booklet showcasing ideas from newspapers around the country for making news stories interactive.


Civic Catalyst

Archived copies of the Pew Center’s quarterly newsletter.


Available only online:

Roadmap 2005: National vs. Regional Journalism Strategies for a Successful Future

New York symposium highlights. Learn how Bill Keller, Managing Editor, The New York Times; Ann Marie Lipinski, Senior Vice President and Editor, the Chicago Tribune and Gary Pruitt, President and CEO, The McClatchy Co., envision the future of journalism.


The People’s Choice: The Media, The Campaign, and The Citizens

A 28-page synopsis of the 2000 James K. Batten Awards and Symposium held April 26-27 at Boston University. Includes stories on the award-winning projects and text from the panel discussions and keynote speeches by Pam Johnson, Senior Vice President and Executive Editor The Arizona Republic and BU Presidential Historian Robert Dallek.


Covering a New America: How Multicultural Communities are Shaping the Future of Journalism

Keynote speech by Martin Baron, Editor, The Boston Globe at the Pew Center Luncheon, AEJMC Convention, Washington DC, August, 2001.


Cracking the Code: Creating New Lifelines 
Between Journalists and Academics

Highlights of a brainstorming session on useful journalism research with 17 top editors and educators. Sponsored by the Pew Center and the Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs at Louisiana State University. 36 pages.


Media and Democracy: 
Civic Journalism in a Digital Age

A 28-page synopsis of the 2001 James K. Batten Awards and Symposium at Kent State University. Includes stories on the award-winning projects, text from the panel discussions and keynote address by Reid Ashe, former publisher of the Tampa Tribune and new president and chief operating officer of Media General Inc.


What’s Coming? Will We Be Ready for It? Equipping Journalists for the New Communications Era

Keynote speech by Anders Gyllenhaal, Executive Editor, The News & Observer, Raleigh, N.C. at the Pew Center Luncheon, AEJMC Convention, Phoenix, August, 2000.


“Civic Journalism:
The Savior of Newspapers in the 21st Century?”

Keynote address by Chris Peck, Editor, The Spokesman Review, Spokane, WA at the Pew Center Luncheon, AEJMC Convention, Aug. 1999. 20 pages.


A Citizen’s-Eye View:
Civic Journalism, Civic Engagement

A 40-page overview of the 1999 Batten Awards and Symposium for Excellence in Civic Journalism, including keynote speeches by media scholar Michael Schudson and Philadelphia Daily News editor Zack Stalberg.


News Futures: Civic Innovations in Reporting

Based on the 1998 James K. Batten Awards and Symposium, this book looks at the emerging trends and opportunities in civic journalism. Available from the Pew Center in hard copy only.


Tapping Civic Life: How to Report First, and Best, What’s Happening in Your Community, 2nd Edition

Offers journalists tools and techniques they can use to supplement everyday Rolodex reporting. It offers instruction on how to identify various layers of civic life, identify “connectors” and “catalysts” who would be useful to reporters, find “third places” in the community, where people discuss issues, conduct conversations instead of interviews and map communities by area or topic. 44 pages.


Tapping Civic Life: Reporting First, and Best, What’s Happening in Your Community, 1st Edition

Prepared by the Harwood Group
A Pew Center workbook for journalists, based on research by the Harwood Group at the Wichita Eagle, that seeks to help journalists tap into different levels of civic life.


Civic Lessons

Evaluated by Esther Thorson and Lewis A. Friedland, Report Writer: Peggy Anderson

A report on four civic journalism projects and how the newsrooms, partnerships, and citizens responded to the project’s efforts. Hard copy of report available.


The Citizens Election Project Case Studies

Edited by Jan Schaffer and Stanley Cloud, Research Assistant: Kathleen Fitzgerald

A Pew Center behind-the-scenes look at six different media partnerships in four states that experimented with new ways to focus on citizens’ issues during the presidential primaries.


America’s Struggle Within

Commissioned by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism and prepared by the Harwood Group

Citizens talk about the state of the union in this reference for journalists covering the 1996 presidential election.


Civic Journalism: Six Case Studies

Edited by Jan Schaffer and Edward D. Miller, reported by Staci D. Kramer

This joint report by the Pew Center and the Poynter Institute for Media Studies lets you step into the newsrooms of six civic journalism partnership efforts. The book features three community initiatives: “Taking Back our Neighborhoods/ Carolina Crime Solutions” in Charlotte, N.C.; “We the People, Wisconsin” in Madison; and “The Public Agenda” in Tallahassee, Fla. It also examines three 1994 election projects: “The People’s Voice” in Boston, the “Voice of the Voter” in San Francisco and “Front Porch Forum” in Seattle.

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