Civic Journalism: Six Case Studies
BOSTON, MASS.
The People's Voice

That it happened at all was itself a triumph. What's more, the idea survived to be tried again. As one Globe editor said months later, "The project was an extra accelerant to the decision that we need to change the way we do things to become more relevant to the lives of readers." Despite its organizational shortcomings, "The People's Voice" did turn the journalists' attention to the lives of readers and not just the ambitions of the candidates.

Initially, the idea found friends in the Globe newsroom.

"One of the most heartening things about all of this," Storin said later, "is that the editors who were involved, who went to the first meeting with Ed Miller, have become total converts." Helping was Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University, who spent some time in Boston, met with the city editors at an off-site meeting, and preached the gospel of civic journalism.

"That was so much better than my having to try to convince them from above," Storin said.

Some were more convinced than others.

Walter Robinson, assistant managing editor for metro news, was intrigued by the challenge of finding a different way to cover campaigns without abandoning the past. His top deputy, city editor Teresa Hanafin, was excited about the potential to shift away from what she called "macho bang-bang" political coverage. Bruce Mohl, the new political editor who would have operational responsibilities for the project, was cautious but willing.

"Philosophically, I'm a real big fan of public journalism," Hanafin said. "I subscribe to its tenets that newspapers have a responsibility not just to dispense information [but] to help readers examine all elements of an issue."

"The People's Voice," as proposed, fit her definition. "It's almost a campaign against bumper-sticker solutions, sound-bite solutions."

Mohl knew little about civic journalism and even less about the project that had just dropped in his lap. "I got the Charlotte thing (Miller's Poynter Paper on the 1992 Charlotte experiment) and read it a couple of times. After reading it, I couldn't tell if it was a success or not."

Even though he first thought the Charlotte approach wouldn't work in Boston, Mohl found valuable elements in the Observer's project, particularly the use of an initial issues poll to frame the coverage.

Enthusiasm, however, would not carry the project. Early intentions to assign extra manpower never materialized. Mohl, who had responsibility for the Globe's traditionally extensive political coverage, had to carry this extra load as well. Given the circumstances, he was to do a remarkable job, but the circumstances conspired against a complete success.

Unlike Mohl, WBUR's Fleming had the better part of a year to prepare for "The People's Voice." In 1993 he had participated in NPR's planning for its Election Project with The Poynter Institute and was one of the first news directors to volunteer his station as a partner in one of five target cities -- Boston, Dallas, San Francisco, Seattle, and Wichita.

Fleming knew the newspaper partnership was a vital component of the project but his staff worried about being overshadowed by the much larger Globe and a television partner. "There were some people who thought this was our baby and should be our baby."

Others, including assistant news director Bob Oakes, understood why that wouldn't work. "From my point of view, the whole point of this idea was to make some impact." Alone, WBUR stood little chance of accomplishing that goal.

Fleming also had to worry about competition when the Globe suggested WBZ-TV, its customary polling partner, as the best television partner. Fleming's concern: The NBC affiliate shared a newsroom with its sister radio station, a direct competitor of WBUR-FM. The partners agreed that WBZ-TV would be involved, but its radio arm would not.

WBZ-TV brought its own problems to the mix. News director Peter Brown liked the concept, but didn't see a role for television in every aspect of the project, especially the initial focus groups that "were great for newspapers and radio." He also expressed a concern that having a television camera in the room would make the focus group participants too self-conscious. Instead, Brown used the poll results to shoot interviews with people on the street.

Also, Brown was unable to commit week-night prime time, the television equivalent of front-page space, to "The People's Voice." WBZ-TV produced hours of "The People's Voice" coverage, but aired nearly all of it on Sunday mornings, television's answer to the news analysis section, thus diminishing the chance to reach a wide audience.