Maine
TeenGo Web Site and On the Verge, Portland, ME 1999
Partners:
The Portland Press HeraldAfter the shootings at Columbine High School, the newspaper invited teenagers from around Maine to write about what high school life is like today. In April of 1999, 20 essays were published in the newspaper and more than 150 were posted on the "teengo" page of the Press Herald's Web site. The page also launched an interactive forum so teens from all over Maine could chat online and created 20below.com, a Web site for teens. The site attracted visits from about half the teenagers in the state.
In September, the paper distributed 60 disposable cameras to teenagers who came to a pizza night and asked them to chronicle their own lives so it could use the pictures to illustrate teenage life, as part of a series of newspaper stories, and on the Web site.
The essays and photos helped the paper select four communities where teenagers worked together to create their own Web site, using KOZ software, which eliminated the need to learn HTML.
Contact:
Jessica Tomlinson
Online Community Organizer
MaineToday.com
50 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (207) 822-4072
Email: Jessica@mainetoday.com
Community News Digest, Portland, ME 2001
Partners:
MaineToday.com
The online service, the portal for the Portland Press Herald, the Morning Sentinel, the Kennebec Journal and WMTW Broadcasting, built and customized an innovative software system that allows community groups to generate content. MaineToday originally received funding to use existing KOZ software to improve opportunities for citizens to contribute news, responses and questions to the site. The Portland Press Herald had been using KOZ software to help community groups establish their own Web sites hosted on MaineToday and began the project seeking wider applications of KOZ's easy-to-use format. Just months into the project, however, KOZ filed for Chapter 11 bankrupcy. By that time - early 2001 - nearly 2,000 community groups were publishing on MaineToday. The staff turned its efforts to building a new software system and also figuring out the best way to use it to enhance community participation.
The result was "Bulletin Board," software that connects the community directly to the site. Through an online application, groups can register to be regular contributors. The news they send in is posted on a special section of the site's highly trafficked news pages in a box headlined, "Bulletin Board." Initially, MaineToday incorporated Bulletin Boards onto three of its pages: Sports, 20 Below (aimed at teen users) and Outdoors. Contributions from those involved in such activities as youth soccer or snow-mobiling allow the site to serve thousands of users who are intensely interested in niche activities, which the paper has neither the staff nor the space to cover adequately. The site planned eventually to expand Bulletin Board to any other news page where it makes sense to have users providing content.
Contact:
Jessica Tomlinson
Online Community Organizer
MaineToday.com
50 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (207) 822-4072
Email: jessica@mainetoday.com
Beyond the Ballot: Maine's Issues in the New Millennium, Portland, ME 1998
Partners:
Portland Newspapers
Central Maine Newspapers
WGME-TV (CBS)
Maine Public Television
"Beyond the Ballot" not only dramatically changed the way major media in coastal Maine covered the statewide 1998 elections, it set the course for their coverage of politics and government for the four years that followed.
Beginning with a poll of 1,106 Maine residents in the summer of 1998, the partners let voters decide which issues determine which issues candidates should address and the partners should cover. The poll uncovered a divide between prosperous southern Maine, where taxes and sprawl were most troubling, and the rest of Maine where jobs were the major concern. The partners then organized and covered a series of six day-long meetings in different areas of the state to probe deeper into the findings. Some 1,500 citizens contributed their input to the partners' understanding of the issues. Other media also took an interest in the citizens' views. Daily papers in Lewiston and Bangor, along with more than a dozen weeklies and local radio stations, covered the forums or wrote about the project.
The citizens' views and issues guided the partners' election coverage through the fall and, when the election was over, the partners published a book. "Beyond the Ballot: Maine people on Maine's future," outlining the issues of greatest concern and proposed legislative solutions to problems, was sent to the governor, state legislature, local leaders and public libraries. The book also became a benchmark by which to assess state government, with follow-up reporting on the progress the governor and legislature were making in addressing the citizens' issues.
Contact:
Jeannine A. Guttman (former Executive Editor, Portland Newspapers)
Editor and VP
Portland Press Herald
PO Box 1460
Portland, ME 04104
Phone: (207) 791-6310
Email: jguttman@pressherald.com
Jessica Tomlinson
Online Community Organizer
MaineToday.com
50 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
Phone: (207) 822-4072
Fax: (207) 879-1042
Email: Jessica@mainetoday.com
Sanford Phase II: The Search for Solutions, Portland, ME 1997
Partners:
The Portland Newspapers
WGME-TV
Maine Public TV
Maine Public Radio
What started as an election year effort to get citizen voices in
campaign coverage entered a new phase in 1997, as some 40 residents of
Sanford, Maine, who’d been empaneled for the “Maine Citizens Campaign”
refused to disband when the journalism project was over. The group began a
second year exploring issues and meeting with public officials in hopes of
taking action for positive civic change.
With Pew funds, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram
continued to provide facilitators and other support for the citizens group
but there was much less regular coverage by both the papers and broadcast
partners.
WGME produced three legacy videos on the group; one distributed to
junior highs and high schools throughout Maine for use in a civic
involvement curriculum, another aired on WGME and a third distributed to
media around the country as a model of the citizen engagement process.
The partners teamed up again to use the citizen consultation model for
covering state government with the “Beyond the Ballot” series. The partners
polled 1,100 people from five different regions of Maine to determine which
issues people felt were most important and how they varied from region to
region.
The series began Aug. 23, 1998, with stories showing the issues of jobs,
education and taxes transcended regional differences while interest in
social issues such as child abuse, health care and poverty differed from
region to region. Follow-up stories gave the five candidates running for
governor in 1998 a chance to address the citizens’ issues.
Through the fall, separate town meetings were held in each of the five areas
surveyed. Seventy-five demographically selected citizens deliberated the
issues for a day and questioned gubernatorial candidates who attended the
sessions. The information gathered was published in book form and
distributed to key leaders throughout the state. The paper also used the
book as a guide for reporting on what progress Gov. Angus King made in
addressing citizen issues after his election to a second term.
Contacts:
Jeannine A. Guttman
Editor and VP
Portland Press Herald
PO Box 1460
Portland, ME 04104
TEL: (207) 791-6310
FAX: (207) 791-6931
EMAIL: jguttman@pressherald.com
Jessica Tomlinson
Online Community Organizer
MaineToday.com
50 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
TEL: (207) 822-4072
FAX: (207) 879-1042
EMAIL: Jessica@mainetoday.com
Maine Citizens' Campaign Documentary Video, Portland, ME 1997
Partners:
The Portland Newspapers
WGME-TV
Maine Public TV
Maine Public Radio
What started as an election year effort to get citizen voices in campaign coverage entered a new phase in 1997, as some 40 residents of Sanford, Maine, who'd been empaneled for the "Maine Citizens Campaign" refused to disband when the journalism project was over. The group began a second year exploring issues and meeting with public officials in hopes of taking action for positive civic change.
With Pew funds, the Portland Press Herald and Maine Sunday Telegram continued to provide facilitators and other support for the citizens group but there was much less regular coverage by both the papers and broadcast partners.
WGME produced three legacy videos on the group; one distributed to junior highs and high schools throughout Maine for use in a civic involvement curriculum, another aired on WGME and a third distributed to media around the country as a model of the citizen engagement process.
The partners teamed up again to use the citizen consultation model for covering state government with the "Beyond the Ballot" series. The partners polled 1,100 people from five different regions of Maine to determine which issues people felt were most important and how they varied from region to region.
The series began Aug. 23, 1998, with stories showing the issues of jobs, education and taxes transcended regional differences while interest in social issues such as child abuse, health care and poverty differed from region to region. Follow-up stories gave the five candidates running for governor in 1998 a chance to address the citizens' issues.
Through the fall, separate town meetings were held in each of the five areas surveyed. Seventy-five demographically selected citizens deliberated the issues for a day and questioned gubernatorial candidates who attended the sessions. The information gathered was published in book form and distributed to key leaders throughout the state. The paper also used the book as a guide for reporting on what progress Gov. Angus King made in addressing citizen issues after his election to a second term.
Contacts:
Gary Legters
Operations Manager
WGME-TV
1335 Washington Avenue
Portland, ME 04104
Phone: (207) 797-9330
Jim O'Rourke
Acting News Director
WGME-TV
1335 Washington Avenue
Portland, ME 04104
Phone: (207) 797-9330Lois Czerniak
Executive Producer
WGME-TV
1335 Washington Ave
Portland, ME 04130
Maine Citizens Campaign '96, Portland, ME 1996
Partners:
Portland Newspapers Inc.
Maine Public Broadcasting Network
WGME-TV (CBS)
The "Maine Citizens Campaign" followed a group of about 40 residents of Sanford, ME, a neglected mill town as they deliberated the issues and interviewed candidates in the 1996 campaign. Conceived as a way for the partners to get more citizen voices into their election coverage, the project took on a life of its own as the citizens became empowered by the process and tried to become an action group.
The partners chose to base the project in Sanford after studying past elections and demographics that suggested the town would be representative of the state. They then surveyed 300 residents and followed up with phone interviews of 70 respondents to form the core group. Members met 16 times - eight all together and eight in smaller groups - to become educated on issues and develop questions for candidates.
The partners had hoped to attract all or most of the presidential candidates to meet with the group but only Republican hopeful Senator Richard Lugar appeared. The citizens also interviewed senate and congressional candidates.
Stories about the group's meetings ran in the paper and on TV and radio from November 1995, when the group first began to meet, through the November 1996 election. The partners also used the Sanford citizens to get voter comments into routine election coverage.
When the election was over, the citizens decided to continue meeting with the goal of starting a project of their own. The paper continued to provide assistance and occasionally cover activities. WGME produced a half-hour documentary on the group's second anniversary. The group eventually dissolved but individual members went on to participate in local government.
The project led the newspaper to hire a full-time community coordinator, Jessica Tomlinson, to connect with citizens for civic journalism efforts.
Contacts:
Jeannine Guttman
Editor and Vice President
The Portland Newspapers
390 Congress St.
Portland, ME 04104
Phone: (207) 780-9000
Email: jguttman@portland.com
Jessica Tomlinson
Online Community Organizer
MaineToday.com
50 Monument Square
Portland, ME 04101
TEL: (207) 822-4072
FAX: (207) 879-1042
EMAIL: Jessica@mainetoday.com
Civic Leadership Project, Bangor, ME 2001
Partners:
Bangor Daily News
The Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy
University of Maine
A six-part series on leadership identified the most active behind-the-scenes community leaders in the Bangor area, what traits they held in common and the importance of their work to the life of the community. The paper began the project by compiling a database of 1,600 community leaders. The list included the directors, trustees and top officers of the 100 largest non-profit organizations and the 50 largest locally owned companies in Bangor and 20 nearby communities, as well as the local managers of the 30 largest national and regional chains with a local presence. They also included town council members, school board members, school superintendents and town managers in the area.
The paper ranked the most active leaders by how many times their names appeared on the list. Reporters interviewed the 20 most active men and women about the challenges the area faced, potential solutions and the role of civic leaders in the process. The series included profiles of five of the leaders.
In addition to the stories about leaders, editors said the database was useful in reporting other major stories, notably coverage of the 2000 census, by providing a ready list of sources for interviews. The project also built the paper's capacity for computer-assisted reporting. This paid off in a number of ways, including an investigative report on Maine restaurants using state health inspection records.
Contact:
A. Mark Woodward
Executive Editor
Bangor Daily News
491 Main St.
Bangor, ME 04401
Phone: (207) 990-8239
Email: mwoodward@bangordailynews.net
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