Water. The Power. The Profit. Savannah, GA 2002
Partners:
The Savannah Morning News, Savannahnow.com
Georgia Public Radio
With the Georgia legislature expected to set statewide water policy in its 2003 session, the partners launched "Water: The Power. The Profit," a year-long series on the Savannah River, to encourage citizen participation in the debate.
Your Neighborhood, Your Future, Portland, OR 2001
Partners:
KGW-TV (NBC), KGW.com
Portland Tribune
Beaverton Valley Times
Tigard Times
Gresham Outloo
Clackamas Review
As elected planning officials in the Portland area began seeking public input on a long-term growth plan, the media partners launched a project to inform citizens and engage their interest in the process. “Your Neighborhood, Your Future” included dozens of TV and print stories about crucial growth issues. A poll and a town meeting provided a barometer of public opinion on the issues.
Growth on the Strand, Myrtle Beach, SC 2001
Partners:
The Sun News
Myrtlebeachonline.com
Coastal Carolina University
With Myrtle Beach becoming the fastest-growing relocation destination in the nation, the paper gave residents a chance to try their hand at managing growth in the region with an interactive Web-based game, similar to the model pioneered by The Herald in Everett.
“Chart the Strand’s Future,” a feature introduced on the paper’s Web site in April 2002, allowed users to drop icons onto a map in order to design a growth plan, as in the popular game “Sim City.” The paper did not, however, collect and analyze the designs, as the The Herald in Everett, WA, did. Rather, the game was an end in itself, designed to give users a taste of the trade-offs and challenges city planners face when managing growth. The game included a meter by which users could see how each choice for development affected both the community’s financial health and quality of life. The paper received informal, positive feedback but could not keep track of how many people participated.
Stray Voltage, LaCrosse, WI 2001
Partners:
La Crosse Tribune
This project examined the hazards of stray voltage – electrical current that leaks from power lines – for farms and livestock through a series of newspaper stories and a dedicated Web site that drew comments and questions from around the world.
The stories, looking at causes, effects and possible solutions of stray voltage, were denounced by utility companies, who tried to pressure the Tribune by going directly to the editorial board to complain and even questioning the Pew Center about its support of the project. But the project was embraced by farmers and some public officials. The Michigan Attorney General included several of the stories as evidence in legal action against the state’s second largest utility. The Wisconsin Rural Energy Management Council invited reporter Chris Hardie to display his story and answer questions on the subject as part of its research for the state legislature.
Rural Idaho: Challenged to Change, Idaho 2001
Partners:
The Idaho Statesman
Idaho Spokesman-Review
Lewiston Morning Tribune
(Idaho Falls) Post Register
KTVB-TV (NBC in Boise)
Idaho Public Television
The news organizations gave a statewide scope to the problems of rural Idaho with their collaboration on “Rural Idaho: Challenged to Change,” a five-part series that ran simultaneously in all four papers, and as a three-part series on KTVB in October of 2001. The series’ revelations led to a November conference, attended by several hundred citizens, co-sponsored by the Statesman and two non-profit public policy organizations that, in turn, generated a white paper to the state legislature on measures needed to shore up rural Idaho.
Home for Good, Huntington, WV 2001
Partners:
The Herald-Dispatch
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
WMUL-FM
The out-migration of young people from West Virginia was as accepted as the export of its coal until the partners explored the consequences in “Home for Good,” a project that included a six-part newspaper series, radio reports, a televised public forum and an interactive Web site.
One of the initial challenges, finding those who had left, was nearly solved with a virtual focus group online. The Herald-Dispatch persuaded papers statewide to run an ad around Christmas Day 2001 – when former residents would most likely be visiting – asking them to contact the paper and fill out a brief questionnaire. Four-hundred people responded, creating an instant database of the diaspora. The paper emailed each one a link to a longer survey, asking why they left and what it would take to get them back; 147 people answered.
Waterfront Renaissance, Everett, WA 2001
Partners:
The Herald
KSER-FM Public Radio
The paper’s “Waterfront Renaissance” project marked a new development in interactive journalism, marrying the credibility of the news organization with Web-based game technology that had previously been used mainly on advertising and entertainment sites.
When the Herald set out not simply to inform but also to engage residents in the city’s effort to develop a comprehensive shoreline plan, it used many familiar civic journalism tools. A four-part series of stories, which began April 22, 2001, explained the options for the waterfront and included success stories from other cities, as well as a clip-and-send form to get citizen input into what should happen on Everett’s waterfront. The paper also sought citizen input through 10 neighborhood meetings and a larger town meeting where a national waterfront-development expert spoke.
Shock Value, Concord, NH 2000
Partners:
New Hampshire Public Radio
NHPR used the interactive Web technology it pioneered with its Tax Calculator to give the state’s citizens an idea of how electricity deregulation would affect their utility bills. The special “Shock Value” Web site, linking off the NHPR home page, served as both a primer on deregulation and a tool for figuring out how to save money after the state legislature deregulated electricity in May 2000. Users were invited to leave their email addresses so NHPR could notify them of new developments affecting their utility bills. The site also featured a bulletin-board discussion area where ratepayers could post messages that were automatically forwarded to an email box set up for state legislators on the deregulation committee.