Civic Catalyst: Broadcast Civic Journalism

Summer 2002

Civic TV: Diversifying Race, Gender
A study of television news finds that civic journalism practices significantly improved the diversity of news sources. By David Kurpius.

Spring 2002

Civic TV Seeks Citizen Input
Civic Journalism is giving committed TV newsrooms tools to connect to their communities despite tough economic times. By Deb Halpern Wenger.

Fall 2001

TV Stations Tap Viewers for Story Ideas
Some TV Stations are developing new story ideas in response to viewers' calls and e-mails. By Deborah Potter.

Race Documentary Kindles Norfolk Dialogue
WHRO's documentary, "Noble Desire," sparked a series of community dialogues on race in Norfolk, VA. By Pat Ford.

Summer 2001

Web Cams: A New Take on Getting Fresh Voices
KVDA-TV, a Spanish-language television station in San Antonio, revolutionizes news coverage by using Web cams that allow community members to join evening newscasts. By Jeanne Jakle, San Antonio Express-News.

Winter 2001

Making the Most of Morning News Meetings
Dave Kurpius, assistant professor at Louisiana State University, describes what makes morning news meetings at television stations deliver the best stories.

Fall 2000

TV Stations Try New Political Coverage
Updates from five TV stations participating with Best Practices 2000 experimenting with innovative election coverage.

Civic Journalism: Building Ratings, Revenue
Ray Depa, General Manager of KGUN9 News reports on how the station used civic journalism techniques to repair relations with the community as well as build ratings and revenue.

Winter 1999

Lessons Learned: Sailing Uncharted Free-Time Waters
What happened when candidates got free air time? Wisconsin Public Television Senior producer Andy Moore does a post mortem on a pioneer experiment.

Summer 1998

Austin Draws Broadcast Journalists
The Pew Center and RTNDF co-sponsor their first joint all-broadcast civic journalism workshop in Austin, TX, in June. The weekend event drew more than 50 broadcast journalists.

Spring 1998

KRON Gambles on Race Series in Sweeps
Had KRON-TV gone crazy? The San Francisco station launches a week-long series about race relations during sweeps week, including a 13-minute first piece. Their gamble paid of; Pat Ford reports that the response from the Bay Area was enormous.

Winter 1998

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

Winter 1997

When Citizens Asked the Questions, Viewers Tuned In
Ratings were up in Boston, Wisconsin and Seattle for programming that let citizens ask the questions in candidate debates for last year's elections.

Fall 1995

Ratings: A Runaway Winner
Who says public affairs programming has to be boring? Tom Bier proves that if you include the citizen voice, people will watch.

Winter 1995

Ratings Game
Public journalism programming draws great prime time ratings in Wisconsin.