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.
KARE aired six stories about the poll results. Reader reaction was overwhelmingly positive and the series won the top prize from the Minnesota Associated Press and the University of Minnesota Journalism School. The series had a long-term impact on the paper, too. Editors revamped crime coverage, instituting a public safety column, and reorganized the newsroom into teams and clusters.
The paper also applied and refined the “Safer Cities” model in later projects, including “Across Generations,” about tensions among different age groups, “Poverty Among Us,” about combating post-welfare reform poverty, and “The New Face of Minnesota,” about immigration. Together, these projects won a Legacy Award in the Pew Center’s 2002 Batten Awards competition.
Contacts:
Walker Lundy (Former Pioneer Press editor)
Editor & Executive Vice President
The Philadelphia Inquirer
400 North Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19101-8263
TEL: (215) 854-4594
FAX: (215) 854-5099
EMAIL: wlundy@phillynews.com
Kathryn Parry
Sr. Editor, Politics & Special Projects
St. Paul Pioneer Press
345 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55105-1057
TEL: (651) 228-5522
FAX: (651) 228-5500
EMAIL: kparry@pioneerpress.com
Kay Harvey
Aging and Family Issues, Express
St. Paul Pioneer Press
345 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55101-1057
TEL: (651) 228-5468
EMAIL: kharvey@pioneerpress.com