Rural Idaho: Challenged to Change, Idaho 2001

Partners:

The Idaho Statesman
Idaho Spokesman-Review
Lewiston Morning Tribune
(Idaho Falls) Post Register
KTVB-TV (NBC in Boise)
Idaho Public Television

The news organizations gave a statewide scope to the problems of rural Idaho with their collaboration on "Rural Idaho: Challenged to Change," a five-part series that ran simultaneously in all four papers, and as a three-part series on KTVB in October of 2001. The series' revelations led to a November conference, attended by several hundred citizens, co-sponsored by the Statesman and two non-profit public policy organizations that, in turn, generated a white paper to the state legislature on measures needed to shore up rural Idaho.

The partners conducted a statewide poll of 813 residents and held five roundtable meetings across the state to get the views of Idaho citizens on the challenges facing rural areas. The Statesman also solicited reader ideas through an online poll. Several hundred people completed the poll. The Statesman estimates it received input from 1,400 Idahoans over the course of the project. The paper sold 3,000 extra copies the week the series ran and its Rural Idaho Web page received 80,000 hits in the first three months.

The partners also created and analyzed several databases for the series. One, on education, revealed the low achievement of rural schools. Only 8 percent of the school districts in rural counties met the national average on standardized tests. That was news even to state education officials.

The tenuous state of rural Idaho was brought home through the stories of five families, each from different areas of the state and representing different segments of the rural economy. The package drew praise from the Northwest Area Foundation, which is dedicated to helping rural areas. Its president Karl Stauber said, "The way you've pulled together this media package is the best example of engaging the entire citizenry of the state in becoming more knowledgeable and more involved in finding solutions for Idaho."

Contact:

Carolyn K. Washburn
Executive Editor
The Idaho Statesman
P.O. Box 40
Boise, ID 83707
Phone: (208) 377-6403
Email: cwashbur@boise.gannett.com

Steve Silberman (former Statesman Managing Editor)
Executive Editor
The Desert Sun
750M. Gene Autry Trail
Palm Springs, CA 92262
Phone: (760) 778-4616
Email: silberman@thedesertsun.com

A Collision Course, Idaho Falls, ID 1998

Partners:

Idaho Falls Post Register
Lewiston Morning Tribune
Idaho Spokesman-Review
Idaho Public Television
KTVB (NBC, Boise)

This unique partnership sparked a statewide conversation on Idaho's runaway prison spending with "Collision Course," a five-part series that revealed the hidden cost of building more jails and engaged hundreds of people in the search for alternatives.

As a point of comparison, the partners chose declining state spending on higher education to illustrate how escalating prison spending was affecting Idaho's quality of life. A poll of 804 residents in October 1997 showed 73 percent disagreed with the state's spending priorities. A series of focus groups in six communities explored the reasoning behind the opinions the poll surfaced.

Each paper focused on one part of the overall story. The Spokesman-Review, for instance, coordinated polling and took the lead role in writing the kick-off segment while the Statesman created a database on prison population trends and wrote the bulk of prisoner profiles and articles on higher education. All four papers ran the series from Nov. 16 to 24, 1997. KTVB produced a four-part series of stories that week. Idaho public television broadcast a live town hall meeting Nov. 24.

The series prompted a noticeable change in elected officials' approach to the issue, which had been dominated by law-and-order, lock-'em-up rhetoric. After the series, legislators explored sentencing reform proposals that would reduce the number of non-violent offenders incarcerated.

The partners seized the momentum of the project to launch "Idaho Speaks Out," a civic approach to their 1998 election coverage. A statewide poll in May, the largest ever taken in Idaho, revealed four major issues-federal debt, health care costs, taxes and schools-as voters biggest concerns. A second poll in September refined the findings, showing that education was the issue that would most influence voter decisions. The partners shared the information and analysis; then each partner used it to develop stories tailored to local readers and viewers.

"Collision Course" shared in the 1998 Batten Award.

Contact:

Dennis Joyce (formerly with Statesman)
Asst Managing Editor
Arizona Daily Star
PO Box 26807
Tucson, AZ 85726-6807
Phone: (520) 573-4224
Fax: (520) 573-4200
Email: djoyce@azstarnet.com