Care & Consequences, Binghamton, NY 1999

Partners:

Press & Sun-Bulletin
WSKG Public Broadcasting

The Pew Center supported a series of public forums, newspaper stories and radio and television broadcasts, which began in May 1998 and ran periodically through 1999, to educate the aging population in and around Binghamton, NY, on issues related to the end of life. The partners also launched a Web site, www.careproject.net, dedicated to helping people plan in advance - rather than at a time of crisis - for the ethical, financial, legal, spiritual and medical decisions associated with dying. The Web site received about 1,330 hits per month in 1999.

Several hundred people attended various community meetings held throughout the year on different aspects of dying. Through those meetings and other events, the partners distributed some 2,400 wallet-size "health care proxy cards" that could be filled in with emergency contact information and special instructions for end-of-life health care.

WSKG broadcasts included a radio town meeting to kick off the project, live radio and TV call-in shows and a town meeting simulcast on both radio and television to wrap up the series. The partners also received separate funding to purchase reference books and audio-visual materials on the issues, which remain in permanent collections at 52 public libraries in the Binghamton area.

Contact:

Juan Martinez
WSKG Public Broadcasting
601 Gates Rd.
Vestal, NY 13850
Phone: (607) 729-0100

Eyes on the Bronx, Bronx, NY 1999

Partners:

BRONXNET
The Bronx Journal

BronxNet extended its efforts to link the borough's multi-ethnic communities with the creation of several new broadcasts, utilizing its four public-access cable channels and its Web site. The broadcasts took advantage of the newly built Bronx Journalism Center at Lehman College, opened in 1999 and featuring both audio and video production facilities that allowed it to serve as a kind of "town square" for broadcast community discussions on issues of importance.

"Bronxtalk AM," a daily, two-hour, interactive call-in show about community news and public affairs, was televised on cable while the audio portion was streamed through the BronxNet Web site. A second program, "The Bronx Today," provided in-depth analytical discussions of issues such as community policing, the privatization of New York City hospitals and other grass roots issues. The show included a live call-in segment to allow viewer participation.

Some of the Pew Center funds also went to support the publication of a pull-out section for children in The Bronx Journal, a tabloid published by Lehman's Multi-Lingual Journalism Program which earlier Pew funding helped to launch.

Contact:

Jim Carney
Executive Director
Bronxnet- Lehman College
Carman Hall Room C-4
Bronx, NY 10468-1589
Phone: (718) 960-1180
Email: jcarney@bronxnet.com

Patricio Lerzundi, Ph.D.
Director, Multi-Lingual Journalism
Lehman College
250 Bedford Park Blvd. West
Carman Hall 266
Bronx, NY 10468
Phone: (718) 960-8215
Email: lerzundi@alpha.lehman.cuny.edu

Multi-lingual News Programming, BronxNet, Bronx, NY 1998

Partners:

BronxNet Community Cable
The Bronx Journal
The Multilingual Journalism Program at Lehman College of the City University of New York

In their ongoing and multifaceted effort to give voice to the Bronx's underserved ethnic communities, BronxNet and the Multilingual Journalism Program at Lehman College launched a multilingual news show and a series of special programs on issues of particular importance to the borough's residents.

"News 67" was launched in the spring of 1998 in Italian and Japanese. By the fall, a French edition of the weekly television newsmagazine was added and, later, a Korean edition. BronxNet specials included a live, interactive call-in on the future of Northern Ireland in May 1998. In the fall, the partners televised a live discussion of the impact of AIDS on college-age people in a broadcast that linked all 17 campuses of the City University of New York. "Social Security and Generation X," a month later, linked the campuses with participants in Puerto Rico. For both broadcasts, translators handled questions and comments in Spanish on the air.

Bronx public schools began using Lehman's student-published newspaper, The Bronx Journal, launched with earlier Pew support, for its Newspaper in Education program, which nearly doubled its circulation of 7,000 to 13,000. This prompted the paper to pilot a children's section, supported through later Pew funding.

Contact:

Jim Carney
Executive Director
Bronxnet- Lehman College
Carman Hall Room C-4
Bronx, NY 10468-1589
Phone: (718) 960-1180
Email: jcarney@bronxnet.com

Living with Cancer, Elmira, NY 2000

Partners:

Star-Gazette
WETM-TV (NBC)
WSKG-FM, WSKG-TV

A year-long project looked at the impact of the region's higher-than-average cancer rate and the steps citizens can take to prevent the disease. Monthly installments in the paper, each focusing on a different aspect of the disease, were complemented by radio and television news segments and special TV programs as well as interactive online quizzes and links to other helpful sites.

Reporting was informed both by a poll of 405 Chemung County residents that showed 60 percent had cancer in their family and by an advisory group of 12 "core sources," including two cancer patients, an oncologist, a nurse, a social worker, a state legislator and others. They suggested and helped frame stories for the series.

The first package of stories ran in January 2001 with an overview of the problem in the Elmira area and profiles of people affected by cancer. A public television special that month featured health care and cancer officials talking to the paper's project editor and program host Bill Jaker.

Several non-profit groups sought to get involved in the project. The Breast Cancer Network offered to solicit sources so the paper developed a form that the Network distributed to patients. Reporters interviewed several women who returned the form.

The paper also designed a questionnaire that was distributed to 500 cancer patients through the American Cancer Society and the Falck Cancer Center. Some 30 patients returned the form and, in March, the paper ran a full page of the comments and advice obtained through the questionnaire.

In April, when the series turned its focus to prevention, WSKG ran its second special report which featured Jaker getting a colonoscopy, a procedure for early detection of colon cancer. In September, the Web page supporting the project posted a quiz testing users knowledge of cancer. Another quiz, in November, helped users determine their risk level for lung cancer. The site also linked to Harvard University's cancer risk calculator and an "ask the expert" site where users could email lung cancer questions to an oncology nurse. The site received 44,000 hits through the course of the year, with the number of users increasing each month of the project.

The final installment ran in the Star-Gazette Dec. 16 and WETM broadcast a two-part special, Dec. 16 and 23, wrapping up the project. Reprints were distributed to area medical offices and health classes.

Contact:

Jane E. Sutter (former Executive Editor, Star-Gazette)
Managing Editor
Democrat and Chronicle
55 Exchange Blvd.
Rochester, NY 14614
Phone: (585) 258-2301
Email: jsutter@democratandchronicle.com

Eyes on the Bronx, Bronx, NY 1997

Partners:

The Bronx Journal
BronxNet
Community Cable
Lehman College
The City University of New York

BronxNet community access cable TV joined forces with the unique Multilingual Journalism program at Lehman College (CUNY) to expand its coverage of this underserved New York borough that, by itself, would have been one of the 10 largest U.S. cities.

Pew funding helped the partners launch "Eyes on the Bronx," a multimedia effort to cover the Bronx's diverse communities using civic journalism. A weekly Spanish-language news magazine began airing in April 1997. The cable service also produced periodic specials, such as a 90-minute program on AIDS in the Bronx. The program, "The Changing Face of AIDS," was produced, in part, by students in the Multilingual Journalism program and was followed by a call-in program, presented on one cable channel in English and simultaneously translated into Spanish on another channel. Bilingual educators and counselors staffed special phone lines and made referrals to appropriate organizations.

The project also launched The Bronx Journal in the fall of 1997. The free tabloid was the first newspaper to cover all of the Bronx, not just a small community within the borough. Each issue featured a multilingual pull-out section presenting hard news in 10 languages including Spanish, Russian, Korean, Chinese and Japanese. The Journal continues to provide multi-lingual coverage and is used in Bronx schools.

Jim Carney
Executive Director
Bronxnet- Lehman College
Carman Hall Room C-4
Bronx, NY 10468-1589
TEL: (718) 960-1180
FAX: (718) 960-8354
EMAIL: jcarney@bronxnet.com

Patricio Lerzundi, Ph.D.
Director, Multi-Lingual Journalism
Lehman College
250 Bedford Park Blvd. West
Carman Hall 266
Bronx, NY 10468
TEL: (718) 960-8215
FAX: (718) 960-8218
EMAIL: lerzundi@alpha.lehman.cuny.edu

Facing our Future, Binghamton, NY 1996

Partners:

Press & Sun-Bulletin
WSKG Public TV and Radio
WBNG-TV (CBS)
SUNY-Binghamton

With the Binghamton economy severely depressed and public spirits virtually crushed by the loss of jobs and services, the partners in 1996 launched "Facing Our Future," a solutions-oriented journalism project with a built-in action component. Two years later, citizen action teams were still meeting and the economy was rebounding. Then-Press & Sun-Bulletin editor Marty Steffens gave the media partners at least partial credit for the turn-around. "We weren't just lucky," she said.

The partners' ran three, three-part series - in January, February and March 1996 - on the economic history of the region, the impact of the downturn and ideas for revitalization, including ideas offered by citizens through clip-and-send coupons in the newspaper and a television call-in show. Then, on April 18, they sponsored a town meeting attended by an overflow crowd, where more than 200 citizens signed up to take part in one of 10 action teams for addressing the economic crisis.

The citizens met over the summer with organizational help from a community coordinator hired with Pew Center support. In September, the media partners reported an extensive list of recommendations the teams had developed for improving the region's prospects. A 500-page final report, issued in October, contained more than 100 ideas.

Many of the ideas were implemented in 1997 as the project, renamed "Building Our Future," moved into the action phase. The region's Chamber of Commerce, initially resistant to the initiative, also offered to house it. The Community Beautification and Morale Team planted a neighborhood garden and held a "National Night Out" event that won an award from the National Town Watch Association. The Consolidating Government Team worked to streamline the county 911 system. The Youth Team produced a television show for both TV partners and raised money for a teen recreation center. The local airport was improved and a local highway was taken over as an interstate.

The media partners covered developments but stepped back from active involvement in the project. The Pew Center for Civic Change provided funds for the community coordinator to continue to facilitate citizen action. A 1996 Pew Trusts study of civic journalism projects found that fully half of Binghamton area residents were aware of the project and three-quarters of those felt more positive toward the media partners as a result.

Martha Steffens
Professor, School of Journalism
University of Missouri- Columbia
134-B Neff Annex
Columbia, MO 65211-1200
TEL: (573) 884-4839
FAX: (573) 884-1372
EMAIL: steffensm@missouri.edu

Keep Us Safe: Teens Talk about Violence, Rochester, NY 1996

Partners:

Rochester Democrat andChronicle
WXXI Public Television
WOKR-TV (ABC)

The partners focused on young people - their experiences, their views, their voices - for "Make Us Safe: Teens Talk about Violence." First, they surveyed nearly 1,800 seventh through 12th graders in the Rochester area. They found that one-third thought their life would be shortened by violence, 18.5 percent carried a weapon for fear of violent crime and a significant number wanted their parents to set more limits. Then the partners gathered small groups of teenagers for focus group discussions.

All the media partners launched coverage on Sept. 21, 1996, the one-year anniversary of the fatal stabbing of a 13-year-old girl by a 12-year-old girl outside of their school. A week of newspaper stories chronicling the problem of youth violence included contributions from 100 students who'd been given single-use cameras to document their day. The television and radio partners broadcast teen essays on violence.

The second week of coverage focused on solutions. A two-hour roundtable discussion broadcast live on WXXI and covered by the other partners generated citizen ideas for combating youth violence. The paper printed a coupon with a "Teens Pledge of Peace," asking youth not just to sign the pledge but to offer more suggestions for curbing violence. The project shared the 1997 Batten Award.

Blair Claflin (former public affairs editor, D&C)
Legislative Editor
The Des Moines Register
715 Locust St.
Des Moines, IA 50304
Phone: (515) 284-8052

Gary Walker
VP of Television
WXXI-TV
280 State St - PO Box 30021
Rochester, NY 14603-3021
TEL: (585) 258-0241
FAX: (585) 258-0384
EMAIL: gwalker@wxxi.org

Elissa Marra
Director of National Productions
WXXI-TV
280 State Street
Rochester, NY 14614
TEL: (716) 258-0349
FAX: (716) 258-0384
EMAIL: emarra@wxxi.org<

Grading Our Schools, Rochester, NY 1995

Partners:

Rochester Democrat andChronicle
WXXI Public Television
WOKR-TV (ABC)

Eight years after a highly touted school reform effort began, Rochester area residents still had concerns about education. "Grading our Schools" got hundreds of them participating - through polls, televised town meetings, focus groups and chat rooms - in appraising and redirecting the effort. The project also laid the groundwork for several subsequent civic journalism projects on education, violence and youth issues.

The partners surveyed 768 city and suburban residents about local schools and held two focus groups with poll respondents to discuss the results in more depth. The findings - that school reform efforts got a low C; that teachers were doing a good job but parents needed to do more; that students seemed to be graduating without the skills they needed - were published May 13, 1995, kicking off a series that would include 70 newspaper stories, five TV shows and four radio broadcasts.

Broadcast town meetings were held May 14 and 16, at two locations, where the partners also held mini-information fairs and signed up volunteers. About 200 people attended the meetings, more than a thousand responded by telephone to flash poll questions during the broadcasts and some 60 people took part in AOL chat rooms set up for the event.

As discussions continued, the partners followed up with "Upgrading our Schools," seeking more student input. Public officials praised the project for promoting metropolitan solutions to regional problems and helping resolve a longstanding debate over the distribution of tax revenues.

Blair Claflin (former public affairs editor, D&C)
Legislative Editor
The Des Moines Register
715 Locust St.
Des Moines, IA 50304
Phone: (515) 284-8052

Gary Walker
VP of Television
WXXI-TV
280 State St - PO Box 30021
Rochester, NY 14603-3021
TEL: (585) 258-0241
FAX: (585) 258-0384
EMAIL: gwalker@wxxi.org

Elissa Marra
Director of National Productions
WXXI-TV
280 State Street
Rochester, NY 14614
TEL: (716) 258-0349
FAX: (716) 258-0384
EMAIL: emarra@wxxi.org

Citizens' Agenda, Rochester NY 1998

Partners:

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
WXXI-TV (PBS)
WXXI-FM
WOKR-TV (ABC)

The partners sought to shake up "business as usual" election coverage by engaging citizens in producing a set of grassroots legislative proposals for candidates that would rival the agenda set by special interest lobbyists. "The Citizens' Agenda" was crafted through a statewide poll, eight forums and two months of weekly meetings by a panel of citizens who finalized the work in a live broadcast two weeks before the election.

The partners launched the process with a poll of 707 New York residents to identify their top issues. Candidates were then asked to take the same poll. Stories on Sept. 13 and 14, 1998 compared the two sets of answers. A series of eight town and neighborhood meetings, attracting a total of more than 100 people, gave the partners additional insight into local concerns and what voters wanted to see happen in the state Senate and Assembly after the election.

The partners ran a series of stories on the top issues: Taxes and the state budget, health care, crime, education and jobs. At the same time, they convened a panel of 16 voters, balanced to reflect accurately their viewing, listening and readership area. Using poll data and personal experience, the panel met weekly for two months to work on their agenda. Then, on Oct. 21, 1998, WXXI-TV aired a live 90-minute special in which the final document was debated and produced. The paper published the resulting agenda and mailed it to every state legislator in Albany.

In December - after the election but before the legislature began meeting - the partners sponsored two meetings between the citizen panel and the local delegation to discuss the citizens' proposals.

Contact:

Gary Walker
VP of Television
WXXI-TV
280 State St - PO Box 30021
Rochester, NY 14603-3021
Phone: (585) 258-0241
Email: gwalker@wxxi.org