Project Topic: Project Topic

In a Big Jam, Hackensack, NJ

 in Quality of Life

In a Big Jam, Hackensack, NJ 1995

Partners:

The Record
TCI, Northern New Jersey
Caucus Educational Corp.

“The Quality of Life Project” comprised a number of ambitious efforts to stimulate informed public dialogue about how to preserve Bergen County’s best qualities in an era of increasing congestion, rising crime and a changing economy.

The first step was to find the consensus on what qualities should be preserved. The paper polled 600 area residents and more than 200 county leaders about the region’s strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities. It also asked readers to respond to the same questions through a coupon in the paper and received more than 1,200 responses. Then it brought in task forces of residents and public officials for roundtable, brainstorming sessions. Read more

A Collision Course, Idaho Falls, ID

 in Crime

A Collision Course, Idaho Falls, ID 1998

Partners:

Idaho Falls Post Register
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Idaho Spokesman-Review
Idaho Public Television 
KTVB (NBC, Boise) 

This unique partnership sparked a statewide conversation on Idaho’s runaway prison spending with “Collision Course,” a five-part series that revealed the hidden cost of building more jails and engaged hundreds of people in the search for alternatives.

As a point of comparison, the partners chose declining state spending on higher education to illustrate how escalating prison spending was affecting Idaho’s quality of life. A poll of 804 residents in October 1997 showed 73 percent disagreed with the state’s spending priorities. A series of focus groups in six communities explored the reasoning behind the opinions the poll surfaced.  Read more

Safer Cities, St. Paul, MN

 in Crime

Safer Cities, St. Paul, MN 1995

Partners:

St. Paul Pioneer Press
KARE-TV (NBC)
Wilder Research Center

Breaking out of the daily police blotter routine, the paper commissioned a poll of 2,853 Twin City residents that explored public attitudes toward crime and safety and assigned a team of four reporters to look at crime in the context of race, age, gender and geography. They also explored the media’s role in public perceptions of crime.

The 10-part series began in the Pioneer Press on Sept. 24, 1995 and ran Sundays through Nov. 26. With interactive features, such as a risk quiz and a neighborhood audit, the series guided readers through a psychological evaluation of their own fears, a reality check about the dangers in their lives, the best ideas from around the country for fighting crime and a look at the most promising local efforts, including a map of resources and lists of safety tips. The paper also sponsored two public forums – each with about 40 people – on crime issues and reported the results. Read more

Shaping the Next Century, Dayton, OH

 in Economy

Shaping the Next Century, Dayton, OH 1995

Partners: 

Dayton Daily News 
WPTD public television 
WYSO-FM 
The Miami Valley Issues Forum
TheMontgomery County Historical Museum 

Marking Dayton’s 1996 bicentennial, the partners launched “Shaping the Next Century” to encourage public conversations about directing the city into the future. The Daily News ran a series of stories in late 1995 that looked at Dayton’s history as well as challenges yet to be met. In January 1996, public television station WPTD and WYSO simulcast a 90-minute documentary and live panel discussion, inviting the public to phone-in questions and comments about where Dayton should be headed.  Read more

Keep Us Safe: Teens Talk about Violence, Rochester, NY

 in Youth/Children

Keep Us Safe: Teens Talk about Violence, Rochester, NY 1996 

Partners: 

Rochester Democrat andChronicle
WXXI Public Television
WOKR-TV (ABC)

The partners focused on young people – their experiences, their views, their voices – for “Make Us Safe: Teens Talk about Violence.” First, they surveyed nearly 1,800 seventh through 12th graders in the Rochester area. They found that one-third thought their life would be shortened by violence, 18.5 percent carried a weapon for fear of violent crime and a significant number wanted their parents to set more limits. Then the partners gathered small groups of teenagers for focus group discussions. Read more

Children First, Detroit, MI

 in Youth/Children

Children First, Detroit, MI 1995

Partners:

Detroit Free Press 
WXYZ-TV (ABC)

Children and violence was the focus of a joint project that grew out of the paper’s “Children First” editorial and community campaign. The effort began with a poll of 1,600 children, aged 9 to 12, in the Detroit area. Nearly one in five said they had witnessed a shooting; almost half knew someone, other than a police officer, who carried a gun. More than 40 percent of children living in the urban core said they worried about being the victim of a crime.  Read more

Your Voices Count, San Jose, CA

 in Governance

Your Voices Count, San Jose, CA 1995

Partners:

San Jose Mercury News
KNTV (ABC) 
KPIX-TV (CBS) 
KIVE and KARA Radio
Santa Clara Public Libraries

Solid investigative journalism documented the problem of special-interest money corrupting the California State Assembly,but the Mercury News turned to civic journalism to ensure that its investigation had impact. At the end of its hard-hitting “Legislature for Sale” project, the paper asked citizens to volunteer to learn more about and become involved in, the legislative process. Some 200 people responded, and about 75 stayed with the project through the 1995 legislative session. Read more

The Public Agenda, Tallahassee, FL 1994

 in Engagement

The Public Agenda, Tallahassee, FL 1994

Partners:

Tallahassee Democrat
WCTV6 (CBS) 
Florida State University 
Florida A&M Universities 

A three-year project, “The Public Agenda” involved thousands of Tallahassee citizens in discussing and seeking solutions to a wide range of issues facing the city.

Project leaders at the Democrat and WCTV used a host of tools – small group discussions, frequent polls, large forums and on-line chats, among them – to determine which issues citizens considered most critical and then engage those citizens in addressing the issues in a variety of ways. A community coordinator, Mimi Jones, organized citizen participation. Read more