Second, the tools of civic journalism allow for the kinds of interactive exchanges that give ordinary people a voice in news reports -- beyond that of the good quote or the anecdotal lede -- that emblematic everyman.

For as we can see here in Oklahoma City, while shock and pain can be universal, we cannot -- and should not -- assume as journalists that the thoughts and emotions of all the people in our community are identical.

Most of us are familiar with the kind of news coverage that puts the journalist in the role of dispassionate observer -- the unfeeling fly on the wall, relaying what he or she sees, hears, is told.

But all too often these days, such coverage does not ring true to our readers and viewers. It seems harsh, insensitive, intrusive and artificial.

Some disasters seem to demand more of our coverage than a dispassionate chronicling of the event, yet for many journalists this is untrodden territory requiring new framing and writing reflexes -- and perhaps a new thinking about a news organization's role in the community.

Civic journalism as practiced by the best practitioners would create roles for the news media beyond the stenographic chronicling of the event and the aftermath.

In covering disasters and their victims, news organizations can also create coverage that provides forums for venting, grieving, learning, enabling and rebuilding the community.

First, let's pause for a definition. For civic journalism has (much like the victims of disasters and their families) had journalism done to it. The central idea has been mischaracterized because of some lousy reporting -- but also perhaps because of some fear of change on the part of journalists.

Civic journalism is both an attitude and a set of tools.

It has evolved from the thinking of many fine journalists who have become alarmed by the direction their craft has drifted in the last 20 years -- to the point where market forces rather than journalistic principles are shaping the news that many Americans watch and read.

Civic journalism is a fresh label on an old idea -- that journalists have an obligation to provide people with the news and information they need to make decisions and to play the roles expected of them in a self-governing society. It helps people behave as citizens -- and it recognizes that inextricable link between journalism and democracy.

Unfortunately, today's market-driven journalism often leaves out the real information needs of people: In increasingly desperate attempts to shore up rapidly eroding audiences, many editors and producers have substituted entertainment values for journalistic values.

The numbers are alarming. A new study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, a sister organization, documents a free fall in Americans' respect and trust for the news media. In short, the people polled said the press was inaccurate, unfair and pushy -- and gotten more so in the last 12 years since the last poll of public attitudes toward the media. They registered far less enthusiasm about the news, were critical of the how journalists did their jobs, were even less appreciative of the watchdog role of the press. For instance, they said press coverage of the personal and ethical behavior of political leaders was "excessive" to the point of not being "worth it."

More than half -- 54 percent -- said the news media get in the way of solving problems.

Only 41 percent have favorable opinions of such large national newspapers as The New York Times and The Washington Post. That's a drop from 53 percent only 5 years ago.

And only 4 in 10 Americans now watch nightly network news vs. 6 in 10 only four years ago.

Civic journalism is an effort by editors and reporters worried about this growing chasm to reconnect with readers and viewers.

In instances of disasters or tragedies, it can supply some of the connective tissue to hold the community together at a time when many other community resources are sorely taxed -- undertaking an investigation, providing relief and assistance, or simply cleaning up.

The media, in addition to covering the incremental advances in the day's news can take on some of these roles, without crossing into the advocacy arena:

1. As a healer. Either in the news pages or in another civic space, being a forum where people can vent their emotions or share their grief and initiate the healing process.

2. As a convener. Inviting people to gather, to meet and talk -- to not be alone, to participate in what is, after all, one of the most old-fashioned ways of getting news and information -- in face-to-face conversation.

3. As a facilitator for deliberation or volunteering. The newspaper -- in an expansion of its consumer news role -- can give readers road maps for things they can do, some ways they might help out.

4. As a synthesizer of ideas and solutions. The newspaper can help harness the community's collective energy.

5. As a framer. It can help report and imagine how the community can cope and move forward.

None of these roles advocates abandoning the traditional role of the press -- as a watchdog. And, for journalists, they open up all kinds of reporting opportunities to take on another role -- a guide dog.

Newspapers around the country are:

• Inviting citizens to town halls or community forums where they may begin by venting or taking the media to task, but under the direction of a good outside facilitator can help people channel their energy to productive uses.

• Asking citizens to prioritize their concerns -- then giving them an opportunity to learn more -- with issues pieces in the paper or through individual participation in study circles, action teams, task forces. Groups led by CITIZENS, not the media.

• Opening their news pages to members of the community for feedback, ideas, recommendations, success stories.

And they are using all of the emerging communications technologies to make their news reports interactive -- to have two-way conversations with citizens and to depart from the one-way model of downloading information on them.

Internally, news organizations are trying to build better connections by testing their reflexes and assumptions to make sure that reporters and editors are not inadvertently framing stories out of habit rather than out of insight.

The goal throughout all of this is still to do good journalism -- that is accurate, independent, objective -- but also to give citizens a seat at the table. To treat them as active participants in their community and not as passive spectators to some civic freak show that they have no entree to influence, or as hapless victims of some disaster.

The goal is also to try to move away from reporting the conflict of a story and look instead for the essence of the story, to not get so caught up in the disagreement that we forget to report the agreement. And the goal is to treat citizens as accountable, too, just as accountable as the politicians for the shape and progress of their communities.