Civic Journalism: Six Case Studies
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
"Taking Back our Neighborhoods"

On July 17, the Observer turned over nearly seven full pages to an examination of life in Seversville. The report included a front-page letter from Buckner, more than a dozen photos, answers to frequently asked questions about specific problems, and the "needs list." People who wanted to volunteer to meet some of those needs were urged to call a phone number that appeared in bold type at the top of the "needs" page. Seversville residents, for instance, said they needed such things as signs to identify the neighborhood, leaders for a Girl Scout troop, uniforms for a fledgling all-girl drill team, and tickets to recreational events.

The Observer's editorial section featured a lead editorial about the neighborhood. The front of the paper's Perspective section reported on the difficulty of providing activities for children in a neighborhood without a community center and very few outlets for recreation.

In a deliberate element of the package's design, the lead news story jumped from Page One to four other pages inside the A section to be sure the reader came into contact with every aspect of the main package. The cohesive look stemmed largely from a decision to detach front-page layout editor Dwuan June for a week before each neighborhood report ran. June worked with the project team in the interim, too.

"If there are any concerns I have, I can get those concerns through" to the editors and reporters, June said. "Ideally, I think this is how packages like this should be done."

Another member of the project team, copy editor Tony Moor, edited each neighborhood package. Moor, one of two blacks on the main copy desk, was not there just to check spelling or the accuracy of addresses.

"Language is a big thing," said Moor. "In this series, we got away from the term inner city -- for one thing, it doesn't always apply. [And] it's another negative. We used the phrase central  city instead. It means the same thing but it's too new to have a very negative connotation."

The Seversville media blitz continued at noon that Sunday when WPEG used its weekly Community Focus show to interview community residents; WBAV aired segments on its Straight Talk program. At 6:30 p.m., WSOC-TV aired its half-hour special. Anchor Debi Faubion began the program by reading the "Carolina Crime Solutions" mission statement as it scrolled across the screen.

Faubion conducted the live segment from the studio, where an eight-person phone bank staffed by United Way volunteers took calls. Throughout the special, viewers interested in volunteering were urged to call the local and toll-free numbers shown frequently on the screen; at the end of the special, viewers were given a number to call during the week. Faubion referred to the Observer's "needs list" as one place to start for people looking for ways to help.

She also introduced several features about the neighborhood, including one by a photographer who spent the night following two community police officers. In another piece, Mark Becker took viewers on a tour through decrepit homes owned by absentee landlords, then showed the manicured home of one of those landlords.

Only the most powerful snippets of the 90-minute, town-hall meeting appeared in the television special. In one telling exchange, the Rev. Retoy Gaston said: "We need a [recreation] center. That's what we need."

That prompted Anchor Bill Walker to call on Wayne Weston, head of the Parks and Recreation Department, who said the department intended to provide recreational activities.

"What date do you want to start?" Gaston asked.