A Celebration of Civic Journalism

At a “Celebration of Civic Journalism” breakfast at October’s APME conference in Milwaukee, panelists described how civic journalism has enhanced their coverage, particularly since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. They said civic mapping and other civic journalism techniques had increased their sources and provided access to richer stories.

Afterward, APME board members thanked the Pew Center for its contributions to journalism, presenting a Wisconsin cheese head to Jan Schaffer.

“Here’s something that demonstrates our affection for her and all that she has done for journalism.”
– Chris Peck, President, APME

“See all those holes? That’s because Jan has taken so many pot shots.”
– Jody Calendar, Program Chair, APME

“My job is to make you folks stars.”
– Jan Schaffer, Executive Director, Pew Center

The Panel:

“The critics of civic journalism say it will hurt your credibility but I can tell you that in Madison, Wisconsin, it has done nothing but enhance our credibility. Our credibility is much stronger now than 10 years ago.”
– Frank Denton, editor, Wisconsin State Journal

“Using e-mail responses from readers, we were able to create almost a new form of story. Rather than the god-awful, man-on-the-street … we put a lead on the e-mail we got and, in effect, we had a story with all but the quotes stripped out.”
– Ken Sands, interactive editor, The Spokesman-Review

“Our civic journalism work proved handy when Sept. 11 occurred … Our reporters knew how to get out in the community. We knew how to answer the questions that people had.”
– Carole Carmichael, assistant managing editor, features, The Seattle Times

“What will help make our [race relations] initiative successful is the power of the idea. The idea is to have a conversation, a solution-oriented conversation, in every neighborhood of greater Cincinnati and northern Kentucky.”
– Rosemary Goudreau, managing editor, The Cincinnati Enquirer