1998 Batten Awards and Symposium
News Futures: Civic Innovations in Reporting
Introductory Remarks
Jan Schaffer
Executive Director
Award Winners
- Asbury Park Press (NJ) for “House of Cards” and “What Ails Asbury: A City Searches for Solutions”
- The Idaho Coalition of News Organizations for “A Collision Course: Prisons vs. Higher Education in Idaho”
- The Baltimore Sun for “Reading by 9”
Symposium Keynote Addresses
Who Said Journalism Can’t Change?: Creating a Meaningful Legacy
Jennie Buckner
Editor and Vice President
The Charlotte Observer
Is the news media trivializing American society? Jennie Buckner questions whether entertainment-based news is a meaningful legacy for modern journalists.
Changing Newsroom Cultures: The Tyranny of “Or;” the Power of “And”
Steve Smith
Editor and Vice President
The Gazette, Colorado Springs
Steve Smith talks about civic journalism as a set of core values that can be used daily along with traditional journalistic frameworks.
Symposium Panel Presentations:Framing the Story in New Ways
Wrightwood: A Neighborhood in Transition Wrestles with Change
Laura Washington
Editor and Publisher
The Chicago Reporter
Laura Washington discusses what her paper learned from one neighborhood’s participation in a community meeting.
Heroin: On Assignment
John Miller
Executive News Director
WFAA-TV, Dallas
John Miller discusses how news organizations have a responsibility to their communities beyond ratings.
Cracking the Spiral of Silence, Empowering People
Frank Denton
Editor
Wisconsin State Journal
How does a story’s frame alter the outcome? Frank Denton shares the lessons he learned as a journalist viewing a story from a new perspective– the citizens’.
“The Children’s Hour”
Mizell Stewart, III
Metro Editor
Akron Beacon Journal
Mizell Stewart discusses how his paper expanded an investigative project to an eight-part series that captured the varied voices within the community by looking beyond the typical conflict frame.
Press Release
April 6, 1998
Asbury Park, Baltimore and Idaho News Organizations Win 1998 Batten Prize For Excellence in Civic Journalism