Civic Catalyst: Spring 2000

Civic Design: Involving Readers at Every Turn
A look at the growing use of civic design techniques to involve readers in stories and navigate news more quickly. Spotlight on The Gazette in Colorado Springs and The Virginian-Pilot. By Pat Ford.

New Sensibilities Always Vie With Old Habits
Pew Center Director Jan Schaffer says newsrooms may achieve more diversity by changing reporter's habits and reflexes and teaching them how to map their communities.

Teens Go for "TeenGo" Web Site and Series
An ongoing series detailing the lives of Maine teenagers by the Portland Press Herald is providing insight for adults, just as the companion website has given teens a sense of community. Jessica Tomlinson, Community Cooridinator, reports.

Twelve Newsrooms Try Civic Mapping
Representatives of twelve media organizations were selected to take part the second year of Harwood Civic Mapping Seminars to learn better ways to probe the complex layers of their communities.

Community Publishing: Faster, Easier, Cheaper, Better
Ken Doctor of KnightRidder.com talks about how the web and the emergence of community publishing can empower today's citizens and community groups.

Building Road Maps for Reporters
Frustrations over sprawl and stark differences in the views of minority and white respondents in a poll released by the Pew Center. By Pat Ford.

Mapping the Traffic Beat
In the perfect marriage of the information highway and the actual highway, Dianne Whitacre, The Charlotte Observer's transportation reporter, tracks commuters on an electronic database that provides sources for every story on her beat. By Pat Ford.

What's Happening in Pew Projects
An update on the progress of the Pew Center's 2000 projects.

Pew Center/IRE Workshop, Atlanta
Highlights from March 10-12, 2000 workshop in Atlanta, "Counting, Caring & Connecting: Making Data Meaningful."

TV Election Initiatives Seek New Ideas
Pilot partnerships in 11 major markets are a part of the innovative election coverage ideas coming out of the Best Practices 2000 project. By Walter Dean.

NY Senate Race Triggers Public TV Connection
A statewide coalition of nine public television stations in New York has formed to look at the 2000 election. By Gary Walker, WXXI-TV, Rochester.

Covering Elections, Making it Worthwhile
The Telegraph of Nashua, NH, is building on its 1994 election coverage to find more innovative ways to get voter's voices onto the news pages. By Managing Editor Nick Pappas.

Just Who Are Today's Citizens?
Media scholar and author Michael Schudson offers his views, from his keynote address at the January civic journalism workshop in San Diego.