Civic Catalyst: Winter 1998

Seattle's Mock Jury Convicts
Guilty, guilty, guilty! Eric Pryne and Marion Woyvodich of the Front Porch Forum write about the verdict in a mock citizens trial on growth and development issues.

Where's Grandma
The Grand Forks Herald took the opportunity for service offered by the massive floods that crippled the city. Editor Mike Jacobs talks about the newspaper's role in that crisis.

Spokane's Soapbox: A Guide to Civic Journalism
Interactive Editor Rebecca Nappi describes a new civic journalism resource that details the Spokesman-Review's philosophy of civic journalism and the ways that philosophy is reflected in its daily coverage.

Pew Center's New Projects
Thirteen projects are selected to receive funding this year by the Pew Center's Advisory Board.

A Farewell
Ed Fouhy says goodbye to the Pew Center after five years as the executive director.

In Search of the Innovators
New Pew Center Executive Director Jan Schaffer lays out her vision for the future.

A Refreshing Dialogue about the Role of Journalism
The Pew Charitable Trusts' Rebecca Rimel reiterates the Trusts' support for the Pew Center and its goals as its leadership changes.

Does Civic Journalism Move the Needle?
ASNE's Ethics and Values Committee surveys civic journalism practitioners to determine what is working about civic journalism, how they know it's working, and where the idea is headed.

Challenging Assumptions: One Reporter's Experience
Starting where the citizens start is giving Eric Pryne of the Seattle Times an entirely different perspective on the issue of growth.

How to Keep Civic Journalism Working
Frank Denton of the Wisconsin State Journal gives his tips on doing civic journalism. Excerpted from remarks made at a Pew Center retreat head at the Poynter Institute in November.

Feedback: Attitudes Toward Civic Journalism
Civic journalism is one of several topics covered in a survey of media executives across the US surveyed on behalf of APME and Virginia Commonwealth University.

Take a Walk in the Woods .. Listen to the Public
Forty seasoned civic journalism practitioners gathered Nov. 7-9 for a retreat, sponsored by the Pew center and hosted by the Poynter Institute. The goal was to assess past experiments and explore new ones. Here are highlights from their conversations.

Impact Civic Journalism
Civic journalism programming in Wisconsin beats the World Series in ratings and Rochester constitutional convestion coverage educates voters in Monroe County.