Keeping Your Ears To The Ground

Keeping Your Ears to the Ground
A Journalist's Guide to Citizen

Participation in the News: A Primer on
Community Journalism
Tamara L. Gillis, Ed. D.

and
Robert C. Moore, Ed. D.
Keeping Your Ears to the Ground
A Journalist’s Guide to Citizen Participation in the News: A Primer on Community Journalism
Tamara L. Gillis, Ed. D.

and
Robert C. Moore, Ed. D.
Elizabethtown College, PA, USA

The Polytechnic of Namibia
Published by The Polytechnic of Namibia, Windhoek, Namibia
Department of Media Technology
Private Bag 13388
Windhoek, Namibia
The Department of Media Technology currently offers a National Diploma in Journalism and
Communication Technology. Though a partnership with the Department of Communications at
Elizabethtown College and the Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NIZA), the program is
engaged in both the instruction of civic/community journalism and its application in the public
sector.
Copyright © 2003 by Tamara L. Gillis and Robert C. Moore
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information
storage or retrieval system, without permission.
Printed in the Republic of Namibia

Table of Contents
About the Authors iii
About This Guide v
Chapter 1: Developmental Communication and Civic/Community Journalism 1
Making the Connection Between Developmental Communication and Civic/Community

Journalism 1
Thinking of Journalism in a New Way 3
What is in a Name? 3
Of Special Note 6
Additional Resources 6
Chapter 2: Public Listening and the Practice of Community Journalism 9
Key Concepts of Community Journalism 9
Public Listening 10
There are Various Layers of “Public:” Tapping into These Layers 11
Identifying What is Important to the Community 13
Limitations of the Media 15
Questions to Consider 15
Assignment 15
Chapter 3: Public judgment and the Practice of Community Journalism 17
What are Some of the Characteristics of the Relationships Between Journalists, the
Community, and the Media in General? 17
Public Judgment 18
Assignment 20
Chapter 4: How Can Journalists Engaged in Community Journalism Help Citizen Act?
23
Review of Public judgment 23
Finding Solutions: Consensus 24
Helping Citizens Act 25
Assignment 26
Chapter 5: The Five Layers of Civic Life, Broadcasting, and the Practice of Community
Journalism 27
Review of the Five Layers of Civic Life 27
A Community Journalism Model for Broadcasting 28
Commitment 28
Research 29
Substance 29
Questions for Review 30
Assignment 30
Chapter 6: Putting All of This into Practice: The Community Journalism Project 31
A Few Final Comments 31
The Project 32
APPENDICES 33
Civic & Community Journalism Bibliography 35
Civic Journalism and Community Empowerment Organizations and Resources—Online

Links 47
Civic Organizations (From the Battlefield School District) 59
Civic Journalism Online Resources (From the Texas A & M University) 61
The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources (Maintained at Elizabethtown

College, Pennsylvania, USA) 63
Journalism Organizations and Related Sites (From the University of MD) 65
About the Authors
Dr. Tamara L. Gillis
Ed. D., Higher Education Administration, University of Pittsburgh; M.S., Communications

Studies, Shippensburg (PA) University; B.A., English, Shippensburg (PA) University. Dr.
Tamara Gillis is associate professor of communications and chair of the department at
Elizabethtown College. In addition, she has held the position of director of student publications,
advising student media (The Etownian and the Conestogan yearbook) and teaches journalism,
publication design, and public relations courses. Her research interests include civic journalism,
student culture, change management, public relations officers in organization structures, public
art as communication, and a "great books" approach to teaching public relations. Dr. Gillis' email
address is: gillistl at etown dot edu
Dr. Robert C. Moore
Ed. D., Higher Education Curriculum and Instruction and Communications Technology, West
Virginia University; M.S., Mass Communications and Educational Media, Clarion (PA)
University; B.S., Education - English, Speech and Communications, Edinboro (PA) University.
Dr. Robert Moore is professor of communications and former chair of the department at
Elizabethtown College. He teaches communications seminar, media and society, introduction to
media production, international communications, and organizational training. His research
interests include international communications, civic journalism, freedom of the press,
communication administration and curriculum development. Dr. Moore's email address is:
moorerc at etown dot edu
About This Guide
This guide is designed to accompany an advanced journalism course in the study of current
journalistic initiatives. The guide emphasizes the important connection between communities
and their media -- print and broadcast and the resultant imperative for journalists to serve the
citizenry.
Using an investigative approach, coupled with case study analyses, participants/students will
develop an understanding and appreciation for civic/community journalism, its practices, its
application and development, and the implications for it in global communications.
The purpose of this guide is to encourage journalists to learn, understand, and apply the basic
values and principles of traditional journalism in light of new democracies and community
empowerment found within the tenets of civic/community journalism.
Objectives
The course and study guide will help the journalist recognize and value the practice of
journalism as an agent of social change and empowerment.
It will help the journalist become aware of the resources and develop the skills to apply
civic/community journalism practices in their daily work as a journalist.
The journalist will adopt a philosophy for developing journalism initiatives in service to the
community and its members.
Of Special Note
When discussing the civic journalism model presented here, the authors will use the term
community journalism. It should be understood that in this context, the word community could
be interchanged with civic or public. Many of the readings or resources used to support this
guide, in fact, use civic or public journalism rather than the term community journalism.
A further distinction needs to also be made. Community journalism, as defined here, is not
interchangeable with the term community media. In this regard, community media is referred to
as a media that has its focus, and perhaps its geographic location and distribution, limited to a
very defined local group of people or target area. It is also often referred to as a media that is
located in a local community. Community journalism is a way of doing journalism, of serving
the people, of involving the people in the issues that are important in their community.
Chapter 1
Developmental Communication and

Civic/Community Journalism
READINGS
Charity, A. (1995). Doing Public Journalism. New York: The Guilford Press. CHAPTER 1.
MAKING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DEVELOPMENTAL

COMMUNICATION AND CIVIC/COMMUNITY JOURNALISM
NWICO, the New World Information and Communications Order, the movement by UNESCO
in the 1970's, can be seen as a foundation, a basis, for the current trend, the current emphasis,
among journalists known as civic, public, or community journalism.
The goals of developmental communication fit nicely into the movement of community
journalism or civic journalism.
To briefly define developmental communication, it was the belief that the instruments of media
(radio, television, newspapers) could be used by the central government of a country to help
build a nation. The whole idea behind UNESCO and NWICO is that developing countries could
build themselves up using the media. This was both a very important concept and a very
misunderstood concept. That is, governments, not only the colonial governments but also the
current governments of independent and developing countries, interpreted the UNESCO position
to mean that they could take control of the media, and that they would use their government
authority to tell the media what to do. The purpose was then to tell the media what was
important to tell the people.
This, in a sense, disenfranchised the people and the media, it took away some of their freedoms
because it was essentially the government telling the citizens what was important to them. What
must be remembered in terms of nation building, in terms of development communication, is that
it occurs as the result of people, not of government. No matter how much the government tells
the media to develop people, if people don't want to develop, they don't. If people don't develop,
nations don't develop. This is where both the theory of development communication and the
practice of development communication collided. Instead of media often being used to support a
government agenda, they should be used to support the people's agendas, to support what is
important to them. This, by the way, is not different from what UNESCO in the early 1970's was
saying; it was just different in terms of practice.
Illiteracy, health, poverty, education and even political awareness are all elements of nation
building, of people building, and while developing countries' governments acknowledge that
these things are important, it was probably their control that caused the lack of media being
supportive of initiatives in developmental communication. So, community journalism is
sometimes interpreted as a return to the goals of developmental communication. It is an effort to,
what has been called, "democratize the media."
When the term democratization of the media is invoked, the idea expressed is not about making
the media democratic, not about making it American, not about making it free. Democratizing
the media is all about making it responsive to the people. When the media is democratized, it is
media whose mission is one that serves the people.
The basis of this approach comes directly from the UNESCO Commission. According to the
UNESCO report on the New World Information and Communications Order about
democratization of the media, "It is a matter of human rights, the right to communicate is an
extension of the advances toward liberty and democracy. Democratizing the media cannot be
simply additional facilities. It means broader access to the media by the general public, and the
interchange of information between people without the dominance of any one person or one
group."
When the media is democratized, it means, in practice, that it serves the people and that the
people use the media to get the information that they are interested in so that they can live their
daily lives in an improved way. In order for that to happen, the people must participate in
determining the focus of the media. There is not necessarily a hierarchy in this process.
Journalists are not above the people in this regard. In fact, journalists are servants to the people
and partners with the people. All people are considered equal and central to the purpose of the
media. Urban residents are simply one of the groups of people that are involved in the
consultative process with the media. They are not to be elite, not to have undue influence. But,
in order to do its job properly, the media may have to go far outside of urban centers to reach all
of the constituencies that they are to serve. Reporters must cover rural and remote areas as well
know how the people feel and to share information that is important with them. It is the use of
information as a self help, as personal growth, and to achieve greater information and education
for everyone that is essential to developmental communication and the common goals of
community journalism. These are very laudable goals and are important to self-determination,
self-improvement, and to nation building. These are the goals that journalists should strive for in
their daily work.
In civic/community journalism, relationships must be forged between the media and the citizens
as equal participants in this entire process. That is actually a very old concept and the basis on
which journalism was established hundreds of years ago. That is where journalism began and
civic/community journalism is a return to journalism's roots.
THINK OF JOURNALISM IN A NEW WAY

There is a new way of thinking about journalism, a new way for each journalist to do his or her
job. When a journalist goes into the field and begins exploring stories, the focus is to be less
from the mouthpieces of business, industry and government and more in collaboration with the
people. That's easily said but more difficult to do. Another component of this new way of
thinking is in the newsroom--in editorial meetings. As a story lead develops, the journalist must
consider how it impacts the people from all levels of the community. Civic/community
journalism requires a more people-centered approach to developing stories and to the stories
suggested for the media.
If journalists are more people-centered in their writing, more people-centered in their reporting,
then the newspaper or broadcast station, regardless of who owns it, will become more valuable to
the people. The goal of civic/community journalism is to make the media valuable to the people,
because journalists are telling and sharing with them the things that are important to them.
WHAT IS IN A NAME?
There are three terms that are used, often interchangeably, to represent this new journalism
concept: public journalism, civic journalism, and community journalism. All three terms have, as
a common basis, the idea of the journalist as a member of the community gathering new stories
for the civic good ... for the public good…for the community.
A journalist’s focus is on the community and how as a journalist, reporter, broadcaster, they can
best serve the people. This is best done when the journalist is a member of the community by
being one of the citizens, not as an elitist member of the media or society.
These three terms represent the same idea--that collaboration between the citizens of the
community and the media should all work together to solve problems or come up with ideas that
might be solutions to problems that face the community and have a focus on self-improvement.
The term civic journalism began with American newspapers in the Nineties as they began to
revisit the roots of the worthy profession. But today, journalists are involved in cases of civic
journalism that include collaboration of the different community media - television, radio and the
local newspaper. They work together to help the community deal with issues, or just bringing
these issues to light, so that the people in the community can begin to discuss solutions and
opportunities to make their lives and communities better.
In fact, civic journalism is happening around the world. Case studies have documented projects
related to civic improvement and public deliberation (some with the participation of the media)
in: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Guatemala, Hungary, Lebanon, Poland, Romania,
Russia, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tajikistan.
Civic journalism can be described using a simple three-phase process as written about by many
of the authors in this movement in civic/community journalism. Those three phases include:
consciousness raising, working through the issue with the community, and then a phase of issue
resolution. While the resolution phase may sound like a final stage, it is just the beginning of
actually solving problems and getting the community involved in solving their own problems or
challenges.
In the consciousness-raising phase, the media finds out what issues are of concern in the
community. To do that, the media must go out and become part of the community. The media
reconnect themselves and talk to people, not just opinion leaders in the community. The media
need to learn from the citizens. They need to learn: what the people think is going on in their
community; what would the people like to know more about; and, how do the citizens think they
can make a difference and improve their lives. In the first phase, the journalist is on fact-finding
mission to learn about the community. In the process, news stories may be written or produced
about various aspects of the information uncovered. However, during this phase, reporters are
conducting research on their community for the purpose of a much more long-range
investigation.
In the second phase of “working through problems or issues,” the community has now identified,
for the journalist, the issues, an agenda or a public agenda, with the emphasis on "public." The
citizens have given their input to the media and enlightened them on what they think is important
in their community. From these issues, the media can begin to construct news stories that
highlight the peoples' point of view of what's happening, or perhaps hold meetings to find out
what the community would like to know more about, how they'd like to see issues addressed,
collect ideas, discuss ideas, bring government into the discussions, find out a variety of ideas are
and how they fit into the picture. This activity leads to the third phase of civic/community
journalism, resolution.
The plans and activities in phase two may lead to news coverage (print or broadcast) like a series
of articles in the newspaper, or a series of segments on a broadcast news program, or a
community project that addresses the original issue to alleviate the problem. But, the
civic/community journalist’s responsibility does not stop there.
Because civic/community journalism is a process, the final phase, the resolution phase, leads
back to the beginning of the process. In the resolution phase, news stories and projects may be
completed. This may result in a resolution to the issue originally identified for the
civic/community journalism project. But other issues may have come to the surface during the
reporter's work with the community. It is at this time that these new issues are taken back to the
first phase and worked through the process, again, with the community, in an attempt to solve
these new issues.
Problems aren't always solved, and sometimes when they are solved, new problems come to
light. So, the cycle continues. As the media becomes more aware of issues, they try to help
people find solutions to the issues, and with the citizens, continue to focus on improvement and
resolution of the issues. Because it's the people’s solutions, not the media's solutions, the media
simply continues to be that voice in the community, that forum in the community, where the
public feel that they are the center, they are the most important part of the community.
As mentioned previously, this is the bridge between developmental communications and

civic/community journalism. This is the return to what journalism was all about when journalists
first started writing in newspapers--to keep their communities informed of issues affecting their
survival. Early newspapers developed for local citizens to have a voice in public issues, for
citizens to know what was going on in their community, and for citizens to know how to
participate in their community. Civic journalism, public journalism, and community journalism
is a movement with the people leading the media, telling the media what is important to them,
and directing how the media can provide that forum for the citizens to engage in problem
solving.
In the United States and other countries, civic journalism projects have addressed such issues as
elections, crime prevention, youth programs, AIDS, health care, and education. These topics are
of universal importance and many of the international projects have focused on the same topics.
While much of the published support materials in the field use American projects as examples,
the tactics employed and the lessons learned will be able to be applied throughout the world.
Civic/community journalism is not a movement among scholars. It is not a movement among

lecturers at polytechnics and universities, it is not teaching new journalists or new students how
to serve people better. In fact, civic/community journalism is a movement of practicing
journalists to do their job better and to make the impact of the media for meaningful. Arthur
Charity, author of Doing Public Journalism, became most noted for his efforts in this area when
he was an editor at a newspaper in Ottawa, Canada. Civic journalism has its roots, its growth, in
a non-American movement. Today, it is still not solely American. How do the journalists feel
about this new way of approaching journalism? Arthur Charity notes in his book a positive
change for reporters in the performance of their jobs. They have reconnected with their local
communities and improved their writing and focus skills as journalists.
The Pew Foundation for Civic Journalism has documented the shift in newsroom attitudes using
this process. An enormous amount of reading material is available from the organization and
from their website: www.pewcenter.org Your lecturer has copies of many of the articles and
publications. See the extensive bibliography at the end of this guide (items that are in bold are
available for loan from the lecturer.)
Reporters from newspapers and broadcast organizations embrace the concepts of civic, public or
community journalism and they talk about them at length in these publications. They provide
insights about how the process has changed the way these reporters think about stories and the
way that they collaborate on stories. Civic/community journalism has brought the reporters
closer to the issues and to the people. Journalists feel like they're making a difference in the lives
of their public instead of just being an elitist organization. That is one of the most rewarding
things for a reporter that comes out of this process.
OF SPECIAL NOTE
From this point forward, when discussing this approach to journalism, the authors will use the
term community journalism. It should be understood that in this context, the word community
could be interchanged with civic or public. Many of the readings or resources used to support
this guide, in fact, use civic or public journalism rather than the term community journalism.
A further distinction needs to also be made. Community journalism, as defined here, is not
interchangeable with the term community media. In this regard, community media is referred to
as a media that has its focus, and perhaps its geographic location and distribution, limited to a
very defined local group of people or target area. It is also often referred to as a media that is
located in a local community. Community journalism is a way of doing journalism, of serving
the people, of involving the people in the issues that are important in their community.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
VIDEOTAPE: "Civic Journalism: A Practical Guide."
This video is a collection of journalists talking about how they have become active in their
communities. These journalists discuss what that interaction has brought to their reporting, their
writing and their broadcasting. A number of the projects highlighted in the video are partnerships
between television, radio, and newspapers in different communities. These cases include the
journalists' descriptions of how civic journalism has changed the way they report and also the
way that they gather information and interact with their communities.
VIDEOTAPE: “Civic Journalism: It’s More Than Just Good Journalism.”
This video is a conversation between Davis “Buzz” Merritt, editor of The Wichita Eagle and
media analyst Hodding Carter III. They talk about what journalism has become and how it can
be improved. Two of the most creative thinkers in journalism today, they reach a working
definition of civic journalism that will serve journalism practitioners, students, and citizens at
large.
Chapter 2
Public Listening and the Practice of

READINGS
Charity, A. (1995). Doing Public Journalism. New York: The Guilford Press. CHAPTER 2
Harwood, Richard C. and McCrehan, Jeff. Tapping Civic Life: How to Report First, and Best, What’s Happening
in Your Community. Second Edition. Washington, DC: The Pew Center for Civic Journalism/Tides Center. 2000.
FRAMEWORK 1-4, PAGES 10-22.
VIDEOTAPE
Schaffer, Jan (Exec. Producer.) A Journalist’s Tool Box: Techniques for Building Better Journalism. Washington,
DC: The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. 2000. PART 3: FINDING THIRD PLACES: OTHER VOICES
DIFFERENT STORIES.
KEY CONCEPTS OF COMMUNITY JOURNALISM
There are three key concepts of community journalism:
1. The goal of community journalism and the goal of the journalist in this process, is
consciousness raising. What that means is, to help bring to light information or issues that may
be important to the citizens.
2. To interact with the people of the community and to have the citizens tell the journalist
about the things that are important to them.
3. To have the journalist identify the issues that are important to the community. Community
journalism means getting the public and the media involved in the same community issues.
"Working through the issues", phase two of the community journalism process, gets the
journalist involved in investigating the issue. The journalist gets the people involved in letting
the media know what is important about the issues. The media provides a forum so that the
people can share that information and learn and understand those issues that are important to the
public in their everyday life.
For the journalist to be involved in the community, the journalist must be in touch with people.
The journalist needs to be in touch with the issues and know where to get information. The
journalist needs to know how to share information with the people.
The third or final step in this simple community journalism model, which is actually the main
goal of community journalism, is resolution of the issues. But while that is a goal of what the
media want community journalism to do, seldom does the actual project solve a problem.
Seldom do the media actually solve the issue. But what the media have done is set the stage for
the people, the community, to discuss and learn so they can resolve the issues themselves.
In this process, journalists are not leaders, and the people are not followers; they are partners in
the discussion of what is important to people in the community. It is only the people that are
going to solve the issues, not the journalists. What journalists do is get the people involved, get
all of the issues and discussion on the table, cover it, and facilitate the interaction to help the
people help themselves.
PUBLIC LISTENING
Public listening is the first step in a journalist's research of an issue. Journalists need to know
how the community feels and what's important to the people. That's exactly what public listening
is. It is the process of finding out from the community members the issues that are important to
the community.
If the reporter is truly thinking about the community, being a community journalist, the reporter
should ask the community, "what's important to you?" and allow the community to form the
questions that the media can help to answer through their reporting.
The feedback or information that the public provides may include a number of sources. Feedback
represents the ways reporters and the community can connect in this public conversation or
dialog. Public listening is part of a conversation between the media and the community. Some
ways of making this connection include getting involved in the community; talking to people
individually; talking to groups of opinion leaders -- the clergy, schoolteachers, bankers, chiefs,
local citizens --getting a cross-section of opinions. Surveys could also be used to collect
community feedback. For example, newspapers could solicit public input through a mail-in
ballots, while broadcast audiences could call a special telephone number to express their ideas.
Other innovative ways to collect information include town meetings and focus groups.
Another important item about public listening is that the media shouldn't just ask people about
what's wrong with their community. The media should also ask the public what's "right", so that
the community can also see that there are good things going on so the community and can build
on what has made their community good to help solve the problems that they see as making their
community less than good.
The media must consider the public, the community, and the agenda? What are their issues?
These issues, in the final analysis, may not be the issues the media think are the most important.
THERE ARE VARIOUS LAYERS OF THE “PUBLIC”
TAPPING INTO THESE LAYERS
Throughout this discussion of the community journalism model, ideas have been shared about
how journalists identify the issues that are important to the people. The media don't set the
agenda. They go to the people and try to find out what the people's (the community's) agenda is.
The Pew Foundation segments the “public” into five basic groups or places. Those five groups or
places in the community are:
1. The OFFICIAL group: those people who are part of the political system or recognized
leaders of institutions in society;
2. The QUASI-OFFICIAL group - organizations or people who are involved in the

community, but not necessarily representatives of either national or local government. These
people tend to be considered “leaders” by the community but not by the office held.
3. THIRD PLACES, or people who congregate in those places, make up the next group.
These places are where people gather informally, like churches, community events,
schools, etc.;
4. INCIDENTAL PLACES are where people are simply able to talk informally with one
another. Sometimes this is just simply on the sidewalk, perhaps at the market, or maybe
even at a coffee shop; and
5. PRIVATE PLACES - in the privacy of one's home; in people's own private lives.
As noted above, there are five layers/places or five groups of people in society to whom
journalists often go to get their story information. Traditional journalism tends to immediately go
to the first group, which is the official group. They want to hear what leaders of institutions and
political bodies, whether they be national or local, have to say about an issue. Then they tend to
go to the last group, which is private people. That means, they go to an individual person to ask
them what they think about what the first group has said or done. In community journalism,
journalists focus on is the middle three groups—those who make up the community.
A journalist, who is going to be more responsive to the community, actually becomes part of the
community. That is, they get to know and understand members of organizations, clergy, chiefs,
and business leaders in the community. They sit and talk with these individuals in the
community, whether it is at social functions, or at the schools, or in churches. They, to an extent,
interact informally, live with, visit with, and get to know these people and the community, so that
they are more in touch with, more in tune with what the people think, not only asking those
leaders what THEY think the people think, but they are actually talking to the people about what
they think themselves.
The challenge is for journalists to learn about people--what they value and what is important to
them--and then to use that information to begin to investigate a story and then to provide a forum
for these people to discuss and ask questions about what is important to them—in a public way.
If the media do that, they are empowering the people. The media are asking the everyday citizens
to set the agenda, rather than using a more hierarchical approach, or simply asking leaders to set
the agenda.
Community journalism also means, then, that the journalist becomes a member of the
community and can connect what the official and civic leaders have to say with what individual
members of the community have to say. Additionally, there are people in every community who
are looked to as leaders -- opinion leaders. Sometimes we find that these individuals are very
active people who work very well with the everyday citizen and still work very well with
institutions and organizations in the community. These kinds of people are 'connectors' or the
people who exist in the community who can tie official life to private life.
Journalists need to also find those people who can give the background, the history, to give the
wisdom on the issues. All too often, journalists come into an unfamiliar area and they don't have
that historical perspective that is so important in framing an issue more clearly. If journalists do
these things, then the journalists have three important goals for their involvement:
1. To find out how people think--what is important to them;
2. To engage these people from all five levels of the community in conversation, so that they
are able to share with us and we are better able to understand what they have to say, and,
3. To investigate the stories based on these interactions and find out what is important for the
journalist to pursue.
These goals mean that journalists determine, from their input, the struggles and those things of
importance that the journalists will deal with in their framing of the stories.
Community journalists are always trying the answer the question, "why?" They want a person to
elaborate on what they're thinking, what they're feeling, rather than simply giving a short answer.
The journalist would like to know what is important to the community. They want to know what
are the main concerns of people and what are they thinking. They want to get a greater
perspective regarding the people’s thinking on the issues. The journalists want to look at the
causes and why the causes exist. How does the community think things should be? How do they
think people should help? What has been done? What can be done? All of these things are open-
ended questions that, if a journalist works to seek input from a variety of levels with questions
that are open-ended like these, the journalist may begin to be able to put together a picture of
what they need to address in a project and what forums they need to make available in
community journalism.
In summary, at this point, journalists need to try to find a way in the existing media to not only
address issues that are important to the people, but also how they are going to address issues that
are different in each of the various regions of the country.
IDENTIFYING WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE

COMMUNITY
The Pew Foundation identifies a five-step process for beginning journalists to use in discovering
what is important to a community.
Step 1: Identify a particular community—a geographic area, a neighborhood/suburb, or issue

important to a certain group of people or beat.
Step 2: Hold newsroom conversations about contacts in the community. Use the five layers of
the community previously discussed to create a specific contact list.
Step 3: What is it that needs to be investigated for the story? Formulate the kinds of questions
that might be asked of civic leaders, quasi-civic leaders, the charity group leaders, as well as
civic officials. (This gives the journalist a start for the interviewing process, but it doesn't limit
the him or her to just those questions, because in these meetings obviously more information is
going to come to the surface in discussion rather than just the questions that are asked.)
Step 4: “Interview catalysts,” means talking to those people that are the “everyday leaders” in the
community. These catalysts are those people to whom citizens look as quasi-officials or opinion
leaders. The diverse opinions gotten will be valuable to the story and will be indicative of a
overall sense of the community’s important issues.
Step 5: Interview citizens, not just in those public places, but make this a public process for
encountering and talking with the citizenry. This stage also includes possibly developing public
forums for discussion.
This five-step process should help the journalist develop a news gathering plan, a way of
developing interviews and contacts, that maybe didn't seem apparent when the issues were first
thought about.
In review:
1. Get the idea first. It is really a function of being out and involved and hearing about and
from people before it ever really reaches an official level of concern.
2. Expand sources. Don't simply go to officials and private citizens, but expand issue
sources to include all the various layers of an area or of a neighborhood.
3. Ask better questions. That is, have them open-ended. Get people's ideas and feelings,
their insights to what is important.
4. Expand the possibilities for framing stories. A story is not one-dimensional and is
certainly not what the journalist perceives it is. The frame of a story is decided as a
result of the conversations in the community.
5. Write harder hitting stories. Talk about tensions, talk about issues, talk about problems,
and let people know. Hard-hitting stories--give facts, give issues, give background, and
give experiences.
6. Have a conversation about the story with other journalists, whether it be in the editorial
meeting, when developing the daily diary, or whether it be just among the reporters in the
newsroom, what are the other ideas that people think about? What are other angles for us
to write stories about?
7. Bridge civic layers . Attempt to get people from all the different areas of society from
official to semi-official, to private citizens to be part of the investigative process.
8. Put aside preconceived ideas to try to approach every story not in a biased way. Do not
write from a vantage point of what the journalist thinks is right, but to provide a story or
to write a story or stories that show a variety of points of view, both the minority as well
as the majority point of view.
Gathering information from a number of different layers of the community gives the journalist a
balance of input. It gives the reporter a balance of ideas because certainly, the things that are
important to one person might not be important to another person.
A key reason to get a variety of input from the public is so the reporter can find out what the
climate is really like in the community. The same issue might be of interest to many people but
for very different reasons. This breadth of reasons behind the issues provides depth to the
project and stories.
Community journalism issues are those issues that are important to the majority of the
community. These issues have the greatest impact on the community. As journalists, we don't
want to talk about issues that simply are important to a couple, we want to look for a variety of
views on an issue that is important to many people. Yet, there are minority views to each of the
stories and they should be covered as well.
LIMITATIONS OF THE MEDIA

The media has certain limitations in the coverage of issues. While television is not broadly
received by everybody in the country, it is received by a certain type of audience. The types of
issues journalists would deal with in television news stories would be those that are appropriate
to that audience. Certainly, you would not focus upon an issue dealing with people that could not
receive your information, because the key to community journalism is to report what the people
think is important to their lives and to the people. Again, journalists do not solve the problem,
journalists help give the people a forum so that the people can work through and solve their own
issues. So, the forum must be appropriate to the specific audience and be able to reach the
specific audience.
The media might deal with an issue that’s important in the urban area and also important in the
rural area differently. A newspaper might, in fact, address issues from the rural perspective and
television (in a cooperative project) might deal with the urban perspective.
Community journalism is changing the way journalists do their job. Journalists are asked to
commit to the long-term investigation for long-term analysis for long-term improvement in the
community.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
1. How can community journalism fit into your current reporting practices?
ASSIGNMENT
Public Listening Exercise: Develop a public listening project to determine the needs of your
community and a topic suitable for development using the civic journalism model.
VIDEOTAPE: “New Listening Posts: Blending Investigative with Civic Journalism in

Asbury Park.”
Jody Calendar, for the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, discusses a civic journalism project in
Asbury Park, New York, USA. In particular, she reviews how important it was for the
newspaper to be in touch with the community and how the journalists found new sources among
the members of the community.
VIDEOTAPE: “Tune in Your Community, Turn on Your Viewers.”
This videotape, produced by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism, shows how five TV news
operations try to meet the challenge of leading serious public conversations on important issues.
The tape reviews how stories were chosen, the approaches or framing used in the stories, how
journalists try to make themselves “think” like community journalists, and how the media
connected with individual citizens.
VIDEOTAPE: “Issues in Community News”
This videotape, produced by the Center for Community Journalism, reviews the kinds of
newsgathering that takes place in newspapers, radio and television. “Issues in Community
News” looks at how journalists are stakeholders in their communities and the issues of
balancing that role with more familiar hard news, watch dog, aspect to the profession.
VIDEOTAPE: “Civic Journalism: A Work in Progress.”

This Pew Center for Civic Journalism video looks at The Gazette in Colorado Springs, Colorado
(USA) and how Steven A. Smith tried to create a “civic culture” in the newsroom. Through
public listening, alternative framing, and tapping new voices, the journalist is challenged to
invent a new kind of journalism—one that challenges readers to see things in new ways.
Chapter 3
Public Judgment and the Practice of
READINGS
Charity, A. (1995). Doing Public Journalism. New York: The Guilford Press. CHAPTER 3 & 4.
PART 2, PAGES 23-37.
VIDEOTAPE
DC: The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. 2000. PART 1: INTERVIEWING: NEW QUESTIONS, BETTER
STORIES.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN JOURNALISTS, THE COMMUNITY, AND
THE MEDIA IN GENERAL?
The journalists and the community come together as one without the media attacking the
community. The media tend to be sympathetic to the issues raised by the community and this
leads to a better working relationship between the media and the community.
The journalists are sympathetic to the community's issues because the media see themselves as
part of that community. This is an important element of this model of journalism.
The journalists try to give the people a chance to be citizens, by connecting the people to each
other and letting them talk about their problems and identifying the people who can solve these
problems. Journalists try to find solutions to community problems with the input of the
community members from all layers of the community.
The media is a forum for the community, not a problem solver. The media empowers the citizens
to solve problems on their own as a community, as a group, instead of looking to an entity like
the newspaper, or the television, or the government, to solve all their problems.
The journalists bring the public’s problems to the attention of the community. They are not in
any way trying to impose solutions on the citizens.
One of the key elements of this community journalism process is that the media highlight the
problems, but try not to solve the problems. It is important that the community solves problems
for themselves and takes ownership of the problems and the solutions. Through this process the
public may develop a new interest in the media, as well.
It is very important to match the type of news media that people use to help them to solve the
problems and be part of the solution of problems.
In community journalism, all of the media are in partnership to help the community. Each
medium has its strengths and weaknesses in addressing the issues. If all media in a community
come together in a cooperative effort for the community, then the media may be able to reach
many different aspects of the community.
An example:
In dealing with the community journalism issue of education, there might be a collaboration
between newspapers, radio and television on the news coverage of the issues surrounding
education. Different issues would be dealt with by each media: newspapers, radio and television.
Each media would take different angles; each would follow up regarding education in different
ways each involving the people in the issue that is raised. Perhaps, one of the media might
sponsor an open on-air discussion on the issue. Then, as a result of cooperative coverage, the
people of the community who are reading about the issue in a newspaper, when told that they’ll
be able to hear more about the issue on radio, will tune into the radio when they might not
otherwise have tuned in. If television, for example, covers a public meeting on the issue that was
announced in the newspaper, then people are going to watch that on television. Different angles
and different stories, with each one promoting the other, helps in this collaboration. It’s not a
competition, it’s each media cultivating the other and the other’s coverage of an issue of
importance to the public.
PUBLIC JUDGMENT
Community journalism is a conversation, a dialogue, a two-way exchange. It is the media talking

to the people; very importantly, it is the people talking back to the media. The focus of that
dialogue is to explore more than one side of an issue, to explore all the various viewpoints of an
issue, and not to draw a judgment that one person is right or one person is wrong. Instead, this
exploration presents a variety of sides of the issue so that the people can be informed about the
issue as they find their own solutions to problems. This dialogue is not a debate. A basic
understanding of a debate is that one party is in favor of an solution to an issue, while one party
is against the solution. Community journalism is not a debate; it is a conversation about all the
various elements or aspects of an issue and its potential solutions. There are strong points to be
discussed on aspects on each side. There are some points that are weaker. By the media focusing
on all the different aspects, all the different angles of an issue, the media are promoting people
talking on their own. The media are promoting people acting on their own to address a problem
issue. It’s not the media acting; it’s not the media solving the problem; IT IS the media providing
the forum for people to discuss issues of importance to them. Then the people feel strong
enough, informed enough, to pursue their own solutions to problems. This issue could be health,
literacy, education, transportation, or simply how to get more information to the rural areas.
Dialogue is the key element. What’s the role of the journalist, then, in promoting this dialogue?
How do we focus in on creating a dialogue instead of preaching, telling the people that certain
things are right and certain things are wrong? "Deliberative discourse" means dialogue. It is
lengthy discussion of issues resulting from the investigation within the community. The media
and citizens are fellow problem solvers, but public judgment, what the people decide, is what is
best, not what the media decides. When the people decide, they do so by weighing the strengths
of all the various sides of an issue to come to a compromise; the community decides what they
would like to do. The media’s job is to help them understand and appreciate how other people
think and feel so that the people have more knowledge, more of an ability to come to their own
opinion, their own decision, regarding the issue.
Deliberative discourse is often described as the best form of democracy. In ancient Rome, where
people came together to be involved in decision-making, it clearly was designed to have people
understand and agree to common ground in their decision making in public.
The community media want to help the people to arrive at their own course of action, to address
an issue they think is important to them. This part of the community journalism model is
described as “working toward a choice” that everybody can agree upon. The media do that by
promoting the decisions and actions of the people. Community journalism is a grassroots
movement, a way in which the media serve the citizens of a community.
In community journalism, the reporter should be collecting more than "just the facts" about a
news story. Journalists should find out what’s important to the community. They want to know
what the background is, and to describe those elements of the issue from the various points of
view of the community. After that is done, and the media ask the right questions, they are
providing an in-depth opportunity for analysis -- far more than news. When looking at what
kinds of issues that might be of interest to focus on in community journalism efforts, journalists
poll the people. They survey and talk to the people. The key here is, once it is decided what
issue is going to be pursued, once it is decided where and how support will be provided to help
the people, that the people drive the agenda. The people tell the media what’s important and the
media give them as much information/opportunity to discuss the issues as possible.
The public judgment, when made on an informed basis, is always right, regardless of whether the
media agree with it or not.
Community journalism is also about establishing trust. Journalists can be far more effective if
they address simple issues first. Go into the community and address issues to start building a
dialogue around those issues. The journalist will have an easier time addressing some of the
more difficult issues later.
There has to be some trust built on issues that everyone can agree upon and rally around before
more difficult, controversial issues can be tackled. Community journalism helps to build some
common ground between the community, the media and the political system if we start out small
and don’t try to take on too much at one time.
1) What value does your news media (whether you’re from radio, television, newsprint) add to
your role in your urban communities?
2) How can we, as the media, make it easier for citizens to have a voice and to act on the
issues that we raise in our work in community journalism?
ASSIGNMENT
Layers of Civic Life Exercise: Develop a process by which community journalists may capture
opinions of the five layers of civic life described by The Harwood Group. Coordinate this project
with an additional public listening activity.
VIDEOTAPE: “Civic Journalism: Covering Your Community Through Creative

Partnerships.”
This tape is a recording of a session at the Radio and Television News Directors Association
(USA) Convention. It highlights the unique alliances made between different media to cooperate
on the same community journalism project. The focus is on partnerships and how each media
built their approach to the issue in combination with, not competition with, the other media.
VIDEOTAPE: “Self-Publishing Communities: Partnering with the New Competition.”
Glenn Ritt, former vice president of news and information at The Bergen Record in Hackensack,
NJ (USA) shares his ideas for making newspapers the foundation of a region's information
highway by building partnerships with community groups on the Web
Chapter 4
How Can Journalists Engaged in Community

Journalism Help Citizens Act?
READINGS
VIDEOTAPE
DC: The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. 2000. PART 3: FRAMING A STORY: WHAT’S IT REALLY
ABOUT?
REVIEW OF PUBLIC JUDGMENT

Community journalism is journalism through a dialogue; it is meant to be a conversation among
people. It is not necessarily a dialogue between the media and the people or conversely, between
the people and the media. In either case, such a scenario tends to make the media still very much
of a leader in society; it is unidirectional rather than interactive. In the dialog, the media is a
facilitator that provides a forum for the public. In terms of the dialogue, the media facilitates the
presentation of different angles on the story. The media provides information about the options
that are available. A key point to remember is that the media helps present options, but it doesn't
present the options in the sense that one is better than another. The conversation is then actually
between people with the media only a participant.
FINDING SOLUTIONS: CONSENSUS
Often times, consensus is seen as everybody coming to agreement on a solution to an issue. That
is, in fact, not necessarily the case. In a community journalism project, not everyone will agree
that a particular solution or a particular approach to an issue is the way to solve a problem.
Simply put, consensus is an agreement by the community to pursue a particular course of action.
It doesn't necessarily mean that the members of a community give up their opinions or their
views or that there are not other equally valuable courses of action.
Creating a public forum for gathering public opinion and debating possible solutions could
include scheduling meetings among citizens, or scheduling very important summit meetings with
community or government leaders, or feature stories and regularly appearing columns on the
same issue over a period of time are broadcast or printed. Certainly, to coordinate press coverage
with civic events where people can come together and extend their involvement and their
conversation on these views.
"Some deliberate questions" or key questions that journalists interested in creating a forum for
collecting different views and opinions on an issue could ask include:
•What brought you into this issue? This question promotes understanding in group interviews
because opponents can usually empathize with each other's personal stories more easily than
with each other's arguments.
•What experiences or beliefs might lead decent and caring people to support that point of view?
This question asks people to look sympathetically at points of view they've rejected and at the
opponents themselves.
•Is that where the disagreement lies? When a source explains how two sides in an issue disagree,
the reporter might restate what's been said in very concrete terms and ask this question. It often
prods the source to reply with a more refined or focused definition of the disagreement,
narrowing the issue.
•What's your underlying interest? Is that something you personally believe? What's your reason
for saying that? These types of questions are intended to get the source to define the motivation
behind their aims and beliefs.
•Describe the other side's position to me. The request asks the sources to give a description, not a
caricature, then is followed by a question of accuracy and fairness. This might force the source to
reason for a moment from within their opponent's terms.
•What point, that the other side makes, makes the most sense to you? What trade-offs would you
be willing to live with? What sacrifices are you unwilling to accept? What alternative is the least
persuasive? What makes this issue so difficult?
These types of questions help define where common ground is more or less likely to be found.
(This list of questions was compiled from Arthur Charity's book titled "Doing Public
Journalism.")
If people disagree, the media want to know where that disagreement is, or if it is believed that a
particular course of action is the proper one, citizens need to know on what basis that course of
action is the proper one. Community journalists should have each side describe or discuss the
other side's position to understand why perhaps agreement or disagreement might occur. The
goal in pursuing solutions to an issue is consensus.
HELPING CITIZENS ACT
Being available to various constituencies is very important for a community journalist. Letting
the community know that the media is interested in what they have to say on the issues that are
important to them is a very important part of the process in facilitating change in the community.
This is hopefully what community journalism has as its end reward. It is very important to be
accessible to community constituencies and to let them know that they are important not only as
sources, but also because they are the people who make decisions and make change happen in a
community. It is very important to keep those avenues open and to see the media as a facilitator
in the community in getting the different voices heard.
The media have to make a change in their philosophy about who their constituency is. It's one
thing to talk about a parliamentary constituency or a head man's constituency. But often times,
the media forget that there are people outside of the urban areas. So journalists need to look
differently at who it is they serve, so that they are in touch with all of those constituencies.
Some other ways that the media can facilitate community involvement include: continuing
coverage of issues of interest to the citizens; helping to plan and cover town meetings to discuss
issues; developing citizen forums. (As facilitators, journalists have to try to help the community
act, but can not act on their behalf.) These town meetings are planned by the media as a public
forum to build and identify the public agenda. The media is simply a participant in the forum.
Consider an issue that is key in your community:

1. How would you normally cover the issue? That could include discussions of who you
would interview, what information would be gathered, and so on. That's a very traditional
question. Then, how would you handle it now in a community journalism approach?
2. How would you get involved in the community? How would you identify community
angles to these issues? Look at it from the citizens' point of view rather than the journalists' point
of view. When you identify how you would look at these different angles, list what kinds of
activities you would engage in, in order to uncover those angles. Of course, the easiest one is the
town meeting, but we would like you to talk about other different kinds of activities that you
would use to find these angles.
3. How would each of the different media cover those angles and still complement one another
in the community?
ASSIGNMENT
News Coverage Exercise: Develop a plan for including the voices of the community in a time
delimited community journalism news campaign for the community news media. Consider/plan
partnership activities with other media. Develop promotional concepts to support your news
campaign.
VIDEOTAPE: “Citizen Reader: Building Civic journalism Pages at the Virginian Pilot.”
Dennis Hartig, Managing Editor of the Norfolk Virginian-Pilot, explains how his paper
experimented by devoting an entire page three days a week to covering education, public life and
public safety. The goal was to help make readers more effective citizens by imparting knowledge
as well as news.
Chapter 5
Looking at the Five Layers of Civic Life,

Broadcasting, and the Practice of
Community Journalism.
READINGS
VIDEOTAPE
DC: The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. 2000. PART 4: TAPPING YOUR COMMUNITY: WHAT DON’T
YOU KNOW?
REVIEW OF THE FIVE LAYERS OF CIVIC LIFE—AN
EXAMPLE
A sample issue for identifying the Five Layers of Civic Life (and the places that sources might
be found) is the health-related issue of AIDS.
For an issue like AIDS, it important to consider sources that will help journalists to identify how
the citizenry feels about this issue, as well as information about the issue itself. What are the
layers of civic life to be investigated?
Official contacts from the official layer that might be used to begin to research and write a story
about AIDS might include the Ministry of Health.
The quasi-official layer may include advocacy groups, the organizations who talk on behalf of
people with AIDS, and so on.
The third places layer may include the churches, the unions and the employers, schools.
The incidental layer, especially as it relates to a health issue like AIDS, may include people
living with AIDS, individuals talking about people in the community who have acquired the
disease, and even individuals who might give some information on how the whole situation
occurred and how they feel that the community is dealing with the matter.
The private layer for this issue may include the family of someone who is suffering from this
disease.
KEYS TO A COMMUNITY JOURNALISM MODEL FOR
BROADCASTING
Community journalism is more than just interviewing citizens. It's definitely not just printing
articles that the citizenry is interested in, but actually facilitating the discussion and the debate of
civic issues with the citizens of a community, and making them aware of the issues and their
discussion of the issues public so that the community benefits.
In that way, this community journalism model improves the way that the business of journalism
is done on a regular basis, not just the specific stories that are chosen to be done about an issue,
but the way that all the news stories that are written or broadcast are approached.
There are three keys to implementing civic journalism in the practice of broadcast journalism:
•commitment
•research, and
•substance.
COMMITMENT
Commitment on part of both the broadcast and the print media, when a partnership is formed, is
to work with one another and not compete against one another. One aspect of the media that
cannot be denied is the inherent competitive nature of the mass media -- television, radio and the
newspapers -- in covering news. But, the three different media have their own strengths and
weaknesses, and when covering the same stories in a community journalism project, the media
need to compound the strengths of those individual media in producing cooperative stories that
serve the people. In many instances, the media will be covering similar issues, maybe even the
same event. But each media need to have something to differentiate the stories, to take advantage
of the strength of that particular media, and at the same time to work in partnership. There has to
be a commitment on the part of the media to the community model of journalism for covering
the particular issue at hand. The print journalist will approach it differently than the broadcast
journalist, but they need to be committed to working on the same issue and at times, working
together.
Since community journalism projects are long term projects (projects that will be addressed over
a number of days or weeks of news coverage) the media must be committed to seeing the project
through to its completion for the public's sake. So the journalist, the public and the news
operation must be committed to this work. Partnerships always require commitment of all parties
involved.
If a local radio news operation and a local newspaper operation develop a community journalism
partnership, then the commitment is not only in time given to the issue, but they are committed
to one another to cooperate with one another and cover the issue the best they can while
maintaining that natural competition that the media enjoy. Journalists all want to cover the most
current issues, to be there to cover the newsmakers, to be there when the hard and critical news
breaks. While hard news is important to the people and their right to know, service to the
community to make it a better place to live is a commitment to excellence—to serving the
people. This also comes about when journalists have a respect for one another to share some
information and also to allow each media to take advantage of the different strengths that it
brings to the partnership.
RESEARCH
Research is the second key. Research is key to understanding any news issue. It's also the key to
finding the resources that are needed to develop stories. Those resources include not only
information from the official layer of our community or the quasi-official layer, but also from
those other layers of society--our citizens as resources are exceptionally important to the stories.
The average citizen, who makes up the majority of the community is able to identify what the
important issues are, to help determine what forms of public discussion is appropriate, and what
solutions need to be investigated to improve the community.
SUBSTANCE
The third key is substance. The stories that are written must have substance. That is, they must
have information that is vital and of interest to the community. If a journalist has appropriately
done research then he or she knows precisely what the community is dealing with -- what issues
they are at the forefront of their minds -- then the substance should be there. The stories are not
just what can be called "fluffy" stories, stories about human interest and things like that. These
are news stories that people read to learn something -- something about being a member of that
community or more about an issue that they are facing. The readers and viewers should feel they
can partake in the debate and actually begin to use the information they're receiving from the
media on these particular issues for the long term, and enrich their lives or at least change the
way that they think about parts of their lives, and become part of the community debate or
discussion of these issues.
QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW
1. What are the key strengths of broadcast over print media for telling a community-based
news story?
2. What are the key limitations of broadcast versus print media for telling a community-based
news story?
3. How could a community journalism project be created to have both print and broadcast
components that complement one another?
ASSIGNMENT
Feedback and Evaluation Exercise: Develop a mechanism for gathering public opinion and
continuing developments on your topic or issue of concern. How can you determine the value of
the news campaign to the community? Should additional news coverage be planned or will the
civic journalism project be a special feature or an ongoing element of the media practices?
VIDEOTAPE: _____. The Best of Civic Journalism: The (Year) Batten Award Winners.
James K. Batten Awards and Symposium for Excellence in Civic Journalism. Washington, DC:
The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. VIDEOTAPES WITH ACCOMPANYING PRINTED
GUIDES (Years: 1999, 2000, 2001.)
Chapter 6
Putting All of this into Practice: The

Community Journalism Project
READINGS
Schaffer, Jan and Miller, Edward D., eds. Of the People…by the People…for the People…with the People: A
Toolbox for Getting Readers and Viewers Involved. Washington, DC: The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. 1997.
A FEW FINAL COMMENTS

Journalists in community efforts do not focus on getting a single story. They focus on finding
issues that are important, and then empower the people to talk about those issues. The media
covers those issues and the discussions about them over a period of time. While journalists
typically go out and do a single story and return to the newsroom, community journalists look at
an assignment as a long-term project. To empower people and have them discuss issues that are
important to them cannot be dealt with in a single story, even in a single program or a single
issue of the newspaper; they are ongoing.
The stories that will be written in the final project are to draw from all five layers of the
community; and the community as a whole will feel part of the story because of the story's
substance. A journalist should know when a story is complete or is missing information. Think
like a reader/viewer and ask the questions that they might ask from the story. The story or the
series of stories should be full of information. They should have captured what the people are
trying to say is important. Whether it's a government official or it's a citizen responding to a new
change in the way that perhaps a new law or a new regulation that they have to follow that
affects their life—the story is about feeling, impact, results. The issues are to be covered from
both (or all) sides, from the official side, the information coming down to the community and
from the citizenry and from the people who have to live with it and their opinions coming up to
meet the official layer of the community. It is also common that news stories are written because
a press release was received or an official statement from a government office was made. In the
end, the important measure of effectiveness is to cover that story in a way that shows how
citizens are affected. A lot of readers or viewers are very aware that news coverage as only one-
sided and they don't see how it affects them personally. Stories of substance really do affect
readers and listeners personally and that's the focus when writing community journalism pieces.
THE PROJECT
The final project for the course will include a cooperatively designed group community
journalism project. The plan for the project should require in-depth investigation, a long-term
commitment for the media to cover a wide variety of aspects of the issue selected, and be
inclusive of several different media in partnership in the community.
This project will include the following components and will be completed in the community and
will be presented in its final form suitable for publication/broadcast. The components of the final
project include:
a) project plan – overview (See “With the People” Stage 1: Project Planning)
b) public listening (See “With the People” Stage 2: Getting Started)
c) review of layers of civic life (See “With the People” Stage 3: Tools and Techniques)
d) plan for news coverage (coordinating among media) and production (See “With the People”
Stage 4: Moving the Needle)
e) evaluation mechanism and future casting
A presentation will be made to the class to exhibit each project.

APPENDICES
CIVIC & COMMUNITY JOURNALISM
BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Selections in Bold are available from the Lecturer)
Altschull, J. Herbert. "A Crisis of Conscience: Is Community Journalism the Answer?" Journal
of Mass Media Ethics 11 (3) 1996: 166-72.
_____. America’s Struggle Within. The Pew Center for Civic Journalism. 1995.
Anderson, Rob, Dardenne, Robert and Killenberg, George M. "The American Newspaper as the
Public Conversational Commons." Journal of Mass Media Ethics 11 (3) 1996: 159-1165.
Anderson, Rob, Dardenne, Robert, and Killenberg, George M. The Conversation of Journalism:
Communications, Community, and News. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996.
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(03/2003)
Civic Journalism and Community
Empowerment Organizations and Resources
—Online Links
(Department of Communications, Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania, USA and the
Department of Media Technology, The Polytechnic of Namibia.)
Alliance for Better Campaigns (USA)
http://www.bettercampaigns.org/
A public interest group that seeks to improve elections by promoting campaigns

in which the most useful information reaches the greatest number of citizens in
the most engaging way. The organization "aspires to a politics larger than attack
ads and the money chase that pays for them – a politics rooted in a sense of
national community and purpose."
Alliance for Community Media (USA)
http://www.alliancecm.org/
The Alliance for Community Media is committed to assuring everyone's access to electronic
media. The Alliance advances this goal through public education, a progressive legislative and
regulatory agenda, coalition building and grassroots organizing.
A nonprofit, the Alliance represents Educational and Governmental (PEG) access organizations
and community media centers throughout the country. It also represents the interests of millions
of people who, through their local religious, community and charitable groups.
Alliance for National Renewal (USA)

http://www.ncl.org/anr/
The Alliance for National Renewal (ANR) brings together a network of people and organizations
that want to better their communities. At the grassroots, all over the nation, inspiring stories of
community renewal are waiting to be told and heard. This is your opportunity to tap into this rich
and growing movement.
Amnesty International, International Secretariat (International)
http://www.amnesty.org/
Amnesty International is a worldwide campaigning movement that works to promote

internationally recognized human rights. Amnesty International's vision is of a world in which
every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and other international human rights standards. Its mission is to undertake research and
action focused on preventing and ending abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity,
freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the context of
our work to promote all human rights.
Annenberg Public Policy Center (USA)
http://www.appcpenn.org/
Established by publisher and philanthropist Walter Annenberg in 1994 to create a community of

scholars within the University of Pennsylvania to address public policy issues at the local, state
and federal levels. The center's initiatives focus on the Information and Society; Media and the
Developing Mind; Media and the Dialogue of Democracy; and Health Communication.
Australian Centre for Independent Journalism (Australia)
http://acij.uts.edu.au/
Contains many links pertaining to the region, as well as the magazine Reportage Media Bulletin
(containing full-text articles: Noam Chomsky on Journalism and Reporting Aboriginal Deaths in
Custody) and Signposts to Asia and the Pacific (an online database for journalists and
researchers) and much more.
Canadian Association of Journalists (Canada)

http://eagle.ca:80/caj/
Center for Civic Education (USA)
http://www.civiced.org/
The Center for Civic Education is a nonprofit, nonpartisan educational corporation dedicated to
fostering the development of informed, responsible participation in civic life by citizens
committed to values and principles fundamental to American constitutional democracy.
Center for Civic Networking (USA)
http://www.civic.net:2401/ccn.html
The Center for Civic Networking (CCN) is a non-profit organization dedicated to applying
information infrastructure to the broad public good - particularly by putting information
infrastructure to work within local communities to improve delivery of local government
services, improve access to information that people need in order to function as informed
citizens, broaden citizen participation in governance, and stimulate economic and community
development.
Center for Community Journalism (USA)
http://www.oswego.edu/ccj/index.html
The mission of the Center for Community Journalism is to foster effective community
journalism by training working journalists and forging a link between academia and the world of
community journalism that strengthens both.
CCJ Goals are: to provide continuing journalism education tailored to the needs of small news
organizations, needs often overlooked by other journalism training programs; to help community
newspapers keep abreast of emerging technologies; to explain the ways community newspapers
contribute to healthy communities; and to strengthen the link between the classroom and the
newsroom.
Center for Consensual Democracy (USA)
http://www.consensualdemocracy.org
Consensual Democracy is a sustainable, grassroots approach to civic renewal based on the

visions, values and goals of local citizens. It organizes community members to work together
through nonprofit civic associations that are independent of local government. Consensual
Democracy is financed by local citizens through earned income and consensual (voluntary)
taxes. It welcomes every citizen who wishes to contribute to a better community.
Center for Democracy and Citizenship (USA)
http://www.publicwork.org/
The Center for Democracy and Citizenship is a university-wide resource based in the Hubert H.
Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, a leading public affairs graduate and research institution.
The mission of the Center for Democracy and Citizenship is the promotion of democracy and the
strengthening of citizenship and civic education within a variety of settings, with a special
emphasis on youth.
Center for Democracy in Action (USA)
http://democracy.edgewood.edu/
The Center for Democracy in Action facilitates citizenship development and opportunities for
participation in public life and service. It is committed to the teaching of democracy as a
transformative way of learning and living. The Center consciously locates itself at the interface
of the academy and public life and draws its faculty from both sectors.
Center for Living Democracy (USA)
http://clinton4.nara.gov/Initiatives/OneAmerica/Practices/pp_19980728.3830.html
Despite all the bad news, something extraordinary is happening in America: A profound shift in
attitudes and expectations is reshaping our culture from the bottom up. Living Democracy is
what we call this broad awakening to the essential role of regular citizens in solving America's
toughest problems. Millions are now learning that public life is not just for officials and experts,
but part of a rewarding life for each of us. The Center's mission is to dramatically accelerate the
emergence of Living Democracy.
Center for Media and Public Affairs CMPA (USA)
http://www.cmpa.com/
A non-profit, non-partisan media research organization located in Washington, DC
Chinese Communications Association (China)
http://sjmc.cla.umn.edu/cca/
Civic Journalism Initiative Projects (USA)
http://access.mpr.org/civic_j/projects.htm
THE MINNESOTA PUBLIC RADIO CIVIC JOURNALISM INITIATIVE was started in

August, 1995 after the successful "Minnesota Action Plan to End Gun Violence" project initiated
by Leonard Witt when he was editor of Minnesota Monthly magazine. Civic or public journalism
projects conducted by the Civic Journalism Initiative include: Color of Justice , Covering Native
American Issues , Sharing the Wealth: Charitable Giving in Prosperous Times , Welfare to
Work, Urban, Rural Conversations, Rural Diversity.
The Civic Journalism Interest Group of the Association for Educational in Journalism and
Mass Communication AEJMC (USA)
http://www.has.vcu.edu/civic-journalism/
A newsletter, list-serve, and archives of civic journalism scholarship is available online.
Civic Network Television (USA)
http://www.benton.org/Practice/Best/Features/civic.html
Civic Network Television (CNT) strives to put technology to use in ways that help the civic,
volunteer, not-for-profit and public organizations in communities deal more effectively with
today's problems, while also preparing to meet the extraordinary challenges that lie ahead.
Civic Practices Network (USA)
http://www.cpn.org/
Civic Practices Network (CPN) is a collaborative and nonpartisan project bringing together a
diverse array of organizations and perspectives within the new citizenship movement. It shares a
commitment to bring practical methods for public problem solving into every community and
institutional setting in America. It assumes the responsibility of telling the stories, so that all
citizens may have the opportunity to learn from what others are doing to renew their
communities. CPN has a common faith that we can revitalize our democracy to tackle the
complex problems of the 21st century if we can broadly exchange and continually refine the
civic wisdom of what works and what empowers citizens to work together.
Committee to Protect Journalists (International)
http://www.cpj.org/
By publicly revealing abuses against the press and by acting on behalf of imprisoned and
threatened journalists, CPJ effectively warns journalists and news organizations where attacks on
press freedom are likely to occur. CPJ organizes vigorous protest at all levels--ranging from local
governments to the United Nations--and, when necessary, works behind the scenes through other
diplomatic channels to effect change. CPJ also publishes articles and news releases, special
reports, a quarterly newsletter and the most comprehensive annual report on attacks against the
press around the world.
Communitarian Network (USA)
http://www.gwu.edu/~ccps/index.html
Widely regarded as the new environmental movement, the Communitarian movement is based
on the centrist philosophy that individual liberties depend upon the bolstering of the foundations
of civil society: our families, schools, and neighborhoods. It is through these institutions that we
acquire a sense of personal and civic responsibility, an appreciation of our rights and the rights of
others, and a commitment to the welfare of the community and its members. Central to the
communitarian perspective is the belief that public policies should seek a balance between
individual rights and the responsibilities of individuals to the society at large.
Community and Culture (South Africa)

http://www.unisa.ac.za/commcul/participation/art_communic.html
Academic citizenship in a democracy such as South Africa entails among other things that the
media must be accessible to all its people and that sufficient training facilities must be made
available to prospective journalists from all walks of life. In the spirit of academic citizenship,
UNISA’s Department of Communication has introduced a Community Journalism for Beginners
certificate course to provide students from previously disadvantaged communities the
opportunity to obtain a formal qualification in the field. This distance education course will
equip aspiring journalists with theoretical and practical knowledge and skills in the field of
journalism
Denmark Journalists’ Association (Denmark)
http://www.journalistforbundet.dk/coma.asp?o_id=210
Finland Journalists’ Association (Finland)
http://www.journalistiliitto.fi/fi/
Freedom Forum (International)
http://www.freedomforum.org/
The Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan, international foundation dedicated to free press, free
speech and free spirit for all people. Its mission is to help the public and the news media
understand one another better. With assets of nearly $900 million, it is the USA's largest
foundation focused on fostering First Amendment freedoms. The operator of the Newseum, the
world's only interactive news museum, The Freedom Forum is a major supporter of journalism
education, a leader in assisting the professional development of journalists, a champion of
diversity and the advancement of women in news-media professions. It is a major force in
international press-freedom programs.
German Association of Journalists (Germany)
http://www.djv.de/
Human Rights Watch (International)
http://www.hrwnyc@hrw.org/
Human Rights Watch is dedicated to protecting the human rights of people around the world. It
stands with victims and activists to prevent discrimination, to uphold political freedom, to protect
people from inhumane conduct in wartime, and to bring offenders to justice. It investigates and
exposes human rights violations and hold abusers accountable. It challenges governments and
those who hold power to end abusive practices and respect international human rights law. It
enlists the public and the international community to support the cause of human rights for all.
Human Rights Watch is an independent, nongovernmental organization, supported by
contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. It accepts no government
funds, directly or indirectly.
Index on Censorship (International)
http://www.indexonline.org/
Index on Censorship was founded in 1972 by Stephen Spender. Its goal is to protect the basic
human right of free expression. For the past 31 years, it has reported on censorship issues from
all over the world and has added to the debates on those issues. In addition to the analysis,
reportage and interviews, each issue contains a country-by-country list of free speech violations.
These lists remain as extensive today as they were in the early days of Index.
Institute for Media, Peace and Security (International)
http://www.mediapeace.org/
The institute of the University for Peace created by the United Nations, specializes in the
interactions between media, conflict, peace and security.
Institute for the Study of Civic Values (USA)
http://www.iscv.org/
Since 1973, the Institute for the Study of Civic Values has been a leading center in the United
States promoting community -- the collaboration of citizens, the private sector, and government
in efforts to fulfill America's historic ideals. Throughout its history, the Institute has developed
programs that use basic civic values to help citizens learn how to promote community and
opportunity in the country today.
International Communications Association ICA (International)
http://www.icahdq.org/
ICA is an international association for scholars interested in the study, teaching and application
of all aspects of human mediated communication.
International Federation of Journalists (International)
http://www.ifj.org/
The International Federation of Journalists is the world's largest organization of journalists. First
established in 1926, the Federation represents 450,000 members in more than 100 countries. The
IFJ promotes international action to defend press freedom and social justice through strong, free
and independent trade unions of journalists. The IFJ does not subscribe to any given political
viewpoint, but promotes human rights, democracy and pluralism. The IFJ is opposed to
discrimination of all kinds and condemns the use of media as propaganda or to promote
intolerance and conflict. The IFJ believes in freedom of political and cultural expression and
defends trade union and other basic human rights. The IFJ is the organization that speaks for
journalists within the United Nations system and within the international trade union movement.
International Journalists’ Network (International)
http://www.ijnet.org/index.html
The International Journalists’ Network (IJNet) is the international center for journalists’ online
sources for media assistance news, journalism training opportunities, reports on the state of the
media around the world, and valuable media directories.
Italian Association of Journalists (Italy)
http://www.fnsi.it/
J-LAB—The Institute for Interactive Journalism (USA)
http://www.j-lab.org/
J-Lab is the successor program to the Pew Center for Civic Journalism J-LAB will support
newsroom experiments in interactive news that advance civic journalism in the digital arena. J-
LAB will be housed at the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Jan
Schaffer (formerly of the Pew Center) will be the executive director.
Kettering Foundation (USA)
http://www.kettering.org/
The Kettering Foundation is an operating foundation rooted in the American tradition of

inventive research. Its founder, Charles F. Kettering, holder of more than 200 patents, is best
known for his invention of the automotive self-starter. Established in 1927, the Foundation today
continues that tradition. The objective of the research now is to understand the way bodies
politic, rather than bodies mechanical, function or fail to function. Kettering treats politics in its
broadest sense politics as a dimension of everyday life rather than as only what officeholders and
governments do. The research is done for practical purposes; it goes into crafting "tools" (study
guides, community workbooks, and other exercises) that help a public act responsibly and
effectively on its problems.
Media Alliance (USA)
http://www.media-alliance.org/
Media Alliance is a nonprofit organization, which serves media professionals, nonprofit

organizations and the general public in the San Francisco Bay Area. For twenty years, Media
Alliance has worked to promote fairness and accuracy in the media in the Bay Area and
nationwide. Our 3,500 members include professional journalists, freelance writers, activists,
students, and other interested individuals.
The Media Institute (USA)
http://www.mediainst.org/
The Media Institute is a nonprofit research foundation specializing in communications policy

issues. The Institute exists to foster three goals: freedom of speech, deregulation of the media
and communications industry, and excellence in journalism.
MISA--Media Institute for Southern Africa (SADC)

http://www.misa.org/
The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) is a non-governmental organization with

members in 11 of the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) countries. Officially
launched in September 1992, MISA focuses primarily on the need to promote free, independent
and pluralistic media, as envisaged in the 1991 Windhoek Declaration. MISA seeks ways in
which to promote the free flow of information and co-operation between media workers, as a
principal means of nurturing democracy and human rights in Africa.
The National Center for Community Media (USA)
http://huckboyd.jmc.ksu.edu/
The mission of the Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media is to serve and strengthen
the local newspapers, radio stations, cable systems and other media that play a key role in the
survival and revitalization of America's small towns. The Center affirms the fact that
community and communication are inseparable; you cannot have community without
communication. It seeks to sustain and enhance the positive qualities of life found in small cities
throughout America by nurturing and strengthening community media.
The National Civic League (USA)
http://www.ncl.org/
The National Civic League advocates a new civic agenda to create communities that work for
everyone. Founded in 1894 by Theodore Roosevelt and other turn-of-the-century progressives,
NCL vigorously promotes the principles of collaborative problem solving and consensus-based
decision making through technical assistance, training, publishing, research and an awards
program.
The National Commission on Civic Renewal (USA)
http://www.puaf.umd.edu/Affiliates/CivicRenewal/welcome.htm
The National Commission on Civic Renewal, made possible by a grant from the Pew Charitable
Trusts, will include individuals across the political spectrum and from many different walks of
life, all of whom have demonstrated leadership in their fields and a commitment to the
betterment of our country. The purpose of the Commission is to assess the condition of civic
engagement in the United States today and to propose specific actions to be undertaken by the
public, private, and voluntary sectors as well as by individuals that could improve this condition.
National Communications Association (USA)
http://www.natcom.org/
NCA is a scholarly society and as such works to enhance the research, teaching, and service
produced by its members on topics of both intellectual and social significance. Trends in national
research, teaching, and service priorities are followed.
The National Community Building Network (USA)
http://www.ncbn.org/
The National Community Building Network (NCBN) is a national network that serves as hub for
brokering information and connections among community builders. NCBN regularly brings its
members together and helps community builders become more effective so that their actions
have a greater impact on neglected low-income communities. The mission of NCBN is to
promote and advance community-building principles, in practice and policy, to achieve social
and economic equity for all children and families.
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (USA)
http://www.nfcb.org
The National Federation of Community Broadcasters (NFCB) is a national membership

organization of community oriented non-commercial radio stations. Large and small, rural and
urban, eclectic or targeted toward specific ethnic communities, the membership is distinguished
by its localism and its community participation and support. NFCB's 100 Participant Members
and 130 Associates come from across the United States, from Alaska to Florida and from every
major market to the smallest Native American reservation stations.
National Issues Forums (USA)
http://www.nifi.org/
The National Issues Forums (NIF) is a network of organizations joined together by a common
desire to discuss critical issues. Organizations who participate in NIF include educational
institutions, leadership groups, civic groups, churches, libraries, senior centers, community
groups, and youth groups. Some are independent, local forums sponsored by energetic citizens.
Others are part of educational programs at colleges, schools, and extension services.
National Union of Journalists (United Kingdom)
http://media.gn.apc.org/nuj.html
Organization of News Ombudsman (International)
http://www.newsombudsmen.org/
An ombudsman is someone who handles complaints and attempts to find mutually satisfactory
solutions. Ombudsmen can be found in government, corporations, hospitals, universities and
other institutions. The first ombudsman was appointed in 1809 in Sweden to handle citizens'
complaints about the government. The word is pronounced "om-BUDS-man" and is
Scandinavian in origin
Pew Center for Civic Journalism (USA)
http://www.pewcenter.org/
The Pew Center is an incubator for civic journalism experiments that enable news organizations
to create and refine better ways of reporting the news in ways that help to re-engage people in
public life. The center helps to share the lessons learned at its workshops and seminars for
journalists. THE PEW CENTER FOR CIVIC JOURNALISM IS TO CEASE OPERATION IN
2003. A SUCCESSOR PROJECT IS SCHEDULED TO BE LAUNCHED AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND AND WILL BE CALLED J-LAB. SEE ITS LISTING.
THE CIVIC CATALYST: A newsletter of the Pew Center.
http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/civiccat/index.php
PUBLICATIONS: The Pew Center has produced a series of publications that explore
various civic journalism theories and practices.
http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/pubs/index.html
VIDEOS: The Pew Center has produced a series of videos that explore various civic journalism
theories and practices.
http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/videos/index.html
SPEECHES AND ARTICLES: The Pew Center has an extensive online library and
bibliography of speeches and articles commissioned by them or related to their projects.
http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/speeches/index.html
RESEARCH: The Pew Center funds a large number of research projects each year.
Reports of the projects are available.
http://www.pewcenter.org/doingcj/research/index.html
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press (USA)
http://people-press.org/
An independent opinion research group that studies attitudes toward press, politics and public
policy issues.
The Pew Charitable Trusts (USA)
http://www.pewtrusts.com/
The Pew Charitable Trusts, based in Philadelphia, are a national philanthropy established 49
years ago. Through our grant making, we seek to encourage individual development and
personal achievement, cross-disciplinary problem solving and innovative, practical approaches to
meeting the changing needs of a global community. Each year, the Trusts make grants of about
$180 million to between 400 and 500 nonprofit organizations.
Poynter Institute for Media Studies (USA)

http://www.poynter.org
The Poynter Institute is a school dedicated to teaching and inspiring journalists and media
leaders. It promotes excellence and integrity in the practice of craft and in the practical
leadership of successful businesses. It stands for a journalism that informs citizens and enlightens
public discourse. It carries forward Nelson Poynter's belief in the value of independent
journalism.
Public Agenda Foundation (USA)
http://www.publicagenda.org
Public Agenda is a nonpartisan, nonprofit public opinion research and citizen education
organization based in New York City. It was founded in 1975 by social scientist and author
Daniel Yankelovich and former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance. The two-fold mission of Public
Agenda is to: Help leaders better understand the public's point of view on major policy issues.
Help citizens better understand critical policy issues so they can make their own more informed
and thoughtful decisions.
Public Allies (USA)
http://www.publicallies.org/
Public Allies is a national multicultural organization designed and run by young people for
young people who want to have a positive impact on their communities and on our nation.
Through a ten-month Apprenticeship Program, Public Allies develops the leadership capacity of
young people in order to bring a new generation of social entrepreneurs into organizations that
work to solve this country's most pressing public problems.
Public Broadcasting System (USA)
http://www.pbs.org/
Democracy Project - The section of PBS's website that, in their words, is a "laboratory for
interactive news programs and features to inform, inspire and engage you in America's public
life." Currently, The Democracy Project is providing updates on the Congressional Campaign
Finance Hearings, as well as opportunities for online discussion of current events. The series
provides viewers with innovative news and public affairs programming built upon traditional
PBS programming strengths - depth, dialogue, diversity of viewpoints and duration.
Public Conversations Project (USA)
http://www.publicconversations.org/
The goal of the Public Conversations Project is to foster a more inclusive, empathic and
collaborative society by promoting constructive conversations and relationships among those
who have differing values, worldviews, and positions about divisive public issues.
Public Journalism Network, The (USA)
http://www.kennesawsummit.kennesaw.edu/
The Public Journalism Network is a global professional association of journalists and educators
interested in exploring and strengthening the relationship between journalism and democracy.
The Network believes journalism and democracy work best when news, information and ideas
flow freely; when news fairly portrays the full range and variety of life and culture of all
communities; when public deliberation is encouraged and amplified; and when news helps
people function as political actors and not just as political consumers. It believes journalists
should stand apart in making sound professional judgments about how to cover communities, but
cannot stand apart in learning about and understanding these communities.
Society of Professional Journalists (USA)
http://www.spj.org/
Swedish Association of Journalists (Sweden)
http://www.sjf.se/sjf2/
United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (International)
http://www.un.org/rights/
"The Commission on Human Rights has been the central architect of the work of the United
Nations in the field of human rights" - Mary Robinson, High Commissioner for Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights, composed of 53 States, meets each year in
regular session in March/April for six weeks in Geneva. Over 3,000 delegates from member and
observer States and from non-governmental organizations participate.
The Walt Whitman Center for Culture & Politics of Democracy (USA)
http://www.wwc.rutgers.edu
The Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy, founded in 1989 by Dr.
Benjamin R. Barber, is dedicated to sustaining democratic theory and extending democratic
practice. It approaches democracy in the spirit of Whitman's ideal of a vigorous citizenry
engaged in the culture and politics of a free society--democracy understood as a mode of living
rather than a set of strictly political arrangements.
World Communication Association (International)
http://ilc2.doshisha.ac.jp/users/kkitao/organi/wca/
(03/2003)
Civic Organizations
(List Edited for Currency and Duplication)
(Original List Created by Battleground School District, Washington, USA)
http://www.bgsd.k12.wa.us/glenwood/parents/orgs.html
Are you concerned about the many belief systems dividing our country? Looking to become a
better citizen through collaboration and partnership? Here are links to organizations willing to
transcend our various belief systems to improve our communities.
Disclaimer: Glenwood Heights Primary and Battle Ground Public Schools do not specifically
endorse any of these organizations. We can endorse their sincere desire to make our world a
better place. We offer these links as resources for students, parents, and other citizens seeking
information about civic issues.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources: This list was created based on the recommendations of Mark Gerzon in his book, A
House Divided: Six Belief Systems Struggling for America's Soul, G. P. Putnam & Sons, ©1996
Center for Community Change Policy Alert: www.picced.org/resource/ccc.htm
Independent Sector: www.indepsec.org
International City/County Management Association (ICMA):
www.icma.org/main/sc.asp
National Association for Community Leadership:
www.communityleadership.org
National Civic League: www.ncl.org
All-America City Awards
Alliance for National Renewal
International Healthy Cities Foundation
The National Conference for Community Justice: www.nccj.org
Search for Common Ground: www.searchforcommonground.org
Email comments or questions to: steadman.shirley@mail.bgsd.k12.wa.us

Civic Journalism Online Resources
(List Edited for Currency and Duplication)
(Original List Created by the Dept. of Journalism, Texas A & M University,
College Station, TX USA)
http://journalism.tamu.edu/web1/Undergrad/Course/JOUR408/links.htm
Building Local Civic Nets: Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
http://www.cpsr.org/program/community-nets/report_building_local_civic_net.html
California Voter Foundation http://www.calvoter.org/
A non-profit, non-partisan organization that explores ways the news media can better provide the
public with the information necessary to shape a healthy and engaged electorate. In 1995, CVF
co-sponsored "Your Voices Count," a Civic Journalism project aimed at engaging citizens in the
issue of money and politics.
Democracy Project http://www.pbs.org/neighborhoods/news/
The section of PBS's website that, in their words, is a "laboratory for interactive news programs
and features to inform, inspire and engage you in America's public life." Currently, The
Democracy Project is providing updates on the Congressional Campaign Finance Hearings, as
well as opportunities for online discussion of current events. The series provides viewers with
innovative news and public affairs programming built upon traditional PBS programming
strengths - depth, dialogue, diversity of viewpoints and duration.
Electronic Frontier Foundation's "Activism & Government" Archive
http://www.eff.org/Activism/
Electronic Policy Network http://movingideas.org/
A network of policy and research institutions founded in 1995 by Pulitzer-Prize-winning author

Paul Starr http://www.princeton.edu/~starr/ and The American Prospect magazine
http://www.prospect.org. EPN includes more than 60 research organizations and foundations
whose work tackles topics ranging from civic participation to welfare reform, health care to
foreign policy, and education to Social Security.
Fallows Central http://www.jamesfallows.com/
Widely known for his book "Breaking the News: How the Media Undermine Democracy",
author James Fallows has become an advocate for civic journalism. Fallows joined the Atlantic
Monthly as Washington editor in 1980, and remained in that position until he became editor of
U.S. News & World Report in 1996, where he will be trying out some of new approaches to
practicing journalism. The site has links to other resources such as Jay Rosen's monograph,
Getting the Connections Right: Public Journalism and the Troubles in the Press.
Nieman Foundation http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/
It is the oldest mid-career fellowship program for journalists in the world. Fellowships are
awarded to working journalists of particular accomplishment and promise for an academic year
of study. Also see the Neiman Reports.
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/contents.html
Penn National Commission on Society, Culture and Community
http://www.upenn.edu/pnc/public.html
Seeks to foster the "reasoned and reasonable" discourse essential to the social, political, cultural
and community life of a democracy and to understand the problems of contemporary public
discussion and behavior and foster a more engaged and thoughtful public discourse in the 21st
century.
Project for Excellence in Journalism and the Committee for concerned Journalists
http://www.journalism.org/
An initiative by journalists to clarify and raise the standards of American journalism and to
clarify standards by bringing journalists together to decide for themselves what their purpose and
aims are. It has called journalists to a period of national reflection through a series of nationwide
public forums and a landmark report on the purpose of journalism. It produced The State of the
American Newspaper project, a landmark series of magazine articles on the profession, conducts
an annual review of local television news published by the Columbia Journalism Review, and
produces a continuing series of content studies on press performance. Its aim is not primarily on
diagnosing the press' problems, but is on creating initiatives that can clarify what journalism's
essential role is and identify examples of good journalism around the country that personify that.
Radio and Television News Directors Association http://www.rtnda.org/
The only organization in the world dedicated exclusively to serving the electronic journalism
profession. RTNDA represents local and network news executives in broadcasting, cable and
other electronic media in more than 30 countries.
_____________________________________________________________________
"In a neighborhood dispute there may be stunts, rough words, and even hot insults. But when a whole people speaks to its
government, the dialogue and the action must be on a level reflecting the worth of that people and the responsibility of that
government."
Martin Luther King, Jr., explaining the nonviolent purpose of the March on Washington, 1963.
The WWW Virtual Library: International
Affairs Resources
(Dr. Wayne A. Selcher, Department of Political Science, Elizabethtown College, Pennsylvania,
USA)
http://users.etown.edu/s/selchewa/vl/
This section of the WWW Virtual Library http://vlib.org/ system presents over 2600 annotated
links in a wide range of international affairs, international studies, and international relations
topics. Most of the sites are in English and are carefully selected for their long-term value,
favoring those with cost-free, high-quality information and analysis online. Each site is described
only in general terms because of the typically rapid changes in the details of its contents. We
suggest you begin with the Starter Tips for Internet Research
http://www.etown.edu/vl/starter.html page. You can either use the Quick Clicks drop-down
menu at the top center of each page to navigate this whole site, or return to this page from the
foot of any other page by clicking on:
Resource Categories
Getting Started
Starter Tips for Internet Research http://www.etown.edu/vl/starter.html
Virtual Libraries http://www.etown.edu/vl/librarie.html
Maps http://www.etown.edu/vl/maps.html
Media Sources
News Sources http://www.etown.edu/vl/newsourc.html
International Radio and Television Broadcasts

http://www.etown.edu/vl/radio.html
International Relations Journals and Magazines
http://www.etown.edu/vl/journals.html
Organizations
United States Government http://www.etown.edu/vl/usgovt.html
Nongovernmental Organizations http://www.etown.edu/vl/ngos.html
European Union http://www.etown.edu/vl/eurunion.html
Research Institutes http://www.etown.edu/vl/research.html
United Nations http://www.etown.edu/vl/un.html
Other Intergovernmental Organizations
http://www.etown.edu/vl/otherigo.html
Regions and Countries

Global and Cross-Cultural Issues http://www.etown.edu/vl/global.html
Latin America http://www.etown.edu/vl/latamer.html
Middle East http://www.etown.edu/vl/mideast.html
Western Europe http://www.etown.edu/vl/westeuro.html
Africa http://www.etown.edu/vl/africa.html
General Resources for All Countries http://www.etown.edu/vl/countgen.html
Eastern Europe http://www.etown.edu/vl/easteuro.html
Asia http://www.etown.edu/vl/asia.html
Resources for Selected Countries http://www.etown.edu/vl/countspe.html
Topics
International Business and Economics http://www.etown.edu/vl/intlbus.html
International Development http://www.etown.edu/vl/intldev.html
Study, Work, Internships, and Service Abroad
http://www.etown.edu/vl/study.html
International Communications http://www.etown.edu/vl/intlcomm.html
World Religions http://www.etown.edu/vl/worldrel.html
Public Health http://www.etown.edu/vl/health.html
Global Environment http://www.etown.edu/vl/globenv.html
Peace, Conflict Resolution, and International Security
http://www.etown.edu/vl/peace.html
International and National Law http://www.etown.edu/vl/intllaw.html
Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
http://www.etown.edu/vl/humrts.html
International and Comparative Education
http://www.etown.edu/vl/intleduc.html
American Foreign Policy http://www.etown.edu/vl/amforpol.html
French Language http://www.etown.edu/vl/french.html
Spanish Language http://www.etown.edu/vl/spanish.html
German Language http://www.etown.edu/vl/german.html
General Foreign Languages http://www.etown.edu/vl/forlange.html

_____________________________________________________________________This site was
reviewed in the CHOICE http://www.ala.org/acrl/choice/index.html Magazine, Web Issue VI, August 2002, and is listed
in the Librarians' Index to the Internet http://lii.org/ , SOSIG <http://www.sosig.ac.uk/>, BUBL LINK
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for our Privacy Policy and Copyright Statements http://www.etown.edu/vl/policy.html. Last updated on Tuesday,
February 18, 2003 .
This section of the WWW Virtual Library http://www.vlib.org/Home.html system was created, and is edited and
maintained, by Wayne A. Selcher http://users.etown.edu/s/selchewa/home/, Professor of International Studies,
Department of Political Science http://www.etown.edu/polysci/, Elizabethtown College http://www.etown.edu/,
Elizabethtown, PA 17022-2288 U.S.A.
Copyright © 1997-2003 Wayne A. Selcher. E-mail: selchewa@etown.edu

Journalism Organizations & Related Sites
(USA, Some International)
(List Edited for Currency, Some Sites Added to Original List)
(Original List Created by Christopher Callahan, Associate Dean, Philip Merrill College of
Journalism, University of Maryland, College Park, MD USA)
http://reporter.umd.edu/journ.htm
Media News
Romenesko's Media News http://www.poynter.org/column.asp?id=45
Jim Romenesko of the Poynter Institute links to the latest media-related news.
Daily Briefing http://www.journalism.org/resources/briefing/default.asp
Daily media stories from the Project for Excellence in Journalism.
Associated Press Industry News http://www.ap.org/pages/indnews/
Media industry news daily from The Associated Press.
PBS Media Watch http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/
Media stories from PBS News Hour with Jim Lehrer.
CNN Reliable Sources http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/rs.html
Transcripts from the CNN media show.

Selected Top Sites for Journalists
American Journalism Review http://www.ajr.org/
Newslink provides links to nearly 5,000 newspapers, listings of journalism awards and
fellowships and full text of selected AJR articles (Disclosure: I am a senior editor of AJR).
Communication Institute for Online Scholarship http://www.cios.org/
The Communication Institute for Online Scholarship is a not-for-profit organization

supporting the use of computer technologies in the service of communication scholarship and
education.
Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma http://www.dartcenter.org/
Read about trauma, tips for interviewing effectively and sensitively, test your learning with
the interactive quiz, watch experts discuss emotional injury. Center based at the University of
Washington.
Educational Resources and Information Clearinghouse (ERIC)
http://www.indiana.edu/~eric_rec/
Clearinghouse on Reading, English and Communication. Features literature on thesis topics

as well as research summaries, bibliographies and many other products and services.
FACSNET http://www.facsnet.org/
The online presence of FACS, the non-profit foundation that specializes in content-specific
education for journalists.
Investigative Reporters and Editors http://www.ire.org/

IRE includes a searchable database of more than 11,000 investigative reporting story
abstracts, handouts developed by speakers at IRE conferences, campaign finance data and
sources and a directory of investigative reporters worldwide, plus details on IRE contests,
programs and conferences.
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press http://www.rcfp.org/
The committee provides some of the most practical tools for reporters, such as the Freedom
of Information Act letter generator, state laws on open records and public meetings, updates
on Freedom of Information cases from around the country and a legal defense hot-line for
journalists.
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies http://www.poynter.org/
Poynter Online gives details on the institute’s weeklong workshops, which are some of the
best journalism educational opportunities available, plus research from the institute on
various newsroom topics.
Society of Professional Journalists http://www.spj.org/
The Electronic Journalist includes news stories on press issues and lists more than 60 journalism
contests.
Newsroom Specialists
Computer-Assisted Reporters
National Institute for Computer Assisted Reporting http://www.nicar.org/
Editorial Writers
National Conference of Editorial Writers http://www.ncew.org/

Copy Editors
American Copy Editors Society http://www.copydesk.org/
Online News Editors
Online News Association http://www.onlinenewsassociation.org/
Feature Editors
American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors http://www.aasfe.org/
News Designers
Society of News Design http://www.snd.org/
Photographers
National Press Photographers Association http://www.nppa.org/
Digital Journalist http://digitaljournalist.org/
International Journalists
International Center for Journalists http://www.icfj.org/
International Federation of Journalists http://www.ifj.org/
Freelance Writers
American Society of Journalists and Authors

http://www.asja.org/index9.php
Washington Independent Writers http://www.washwriter.org/
Magazine Journalists
American Society of Magazine Editors http://asme.magazine.org/
Alternative Journalists
Association of Alternative Weeklies http://aan.org/gbase/Aan/index
Columnists
National Society of Newspaper Columnists http://www.columnists.com/
Editorial Cartoonists
Association of American Editorial Cartoonists
http://pc99.detnews.com/aaec/
Youth Page Editors
Youth Editors Association http://www.naa.org/foundation/yeaa/Index.html
Beats Reporters
Education
Education Writers Association http://www.ewa.org/

Business & Finance
Society of American Business Editors and Writers http://www.sabew.org/
Association of Area Business Publications http://www.bizpubs.org/
Environment
Society of Environmental Journalists http://www.sej.org/
International Federation of Environmental Journalists http://www.ifej.org/
Health Care
Association of Health Care Journalists http://www.ahcj.umn.edu/
Science
National Association of Science Writers http://www.nasw.org/
Police & Courts
Criminal Justice Journalists http://www.reporters.net/cjj/
Washington
Regional Reporters Association http://www.rra.org/
Statehouse
Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors http://www.capitolbeat.org/

Children & Families
Casey Journalism Center for Children and Families
http://casey.umd.edu/home.nsf
Politics
Campaign Finance Information Center http://www.campaignfinance.org/
Sports
Associated Press Sports Editors http://apse.dallasnews.com/
Association for Women in Sports Media http://www.awsmonline.org
Religion
Religion Newswriters Association http://www.religionwriters.com/
Other Specializations
Knight Center for Specialized Journalism
http://www.knightcenter.umd.edu/
National Press Foundation http://www.nationalpress.org/
Journalism Magazines and Newsletters
American Journalism Review http://www.ajr.org/

Columbia Journalism Review http://www.cjr.org/
Inside http://www.inside.com/default.asp?entity=localhost
Editor & Publisher
http://www.editorandpublisher.com/editorandpublisher/index.jsp
The American Editor (ASNE) http://www.asne.org/kiosk/editor/tae.htm
Presstime (publishers) http://www.naa.org/presstime/index.html
Nieman Reports http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/contents.html
Media Studies Journal (Freedom Forum)
http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=13087
Communicator (television)
http://www.rtnda.org/communicator/archive.shtml
The Business Journalist
http://www.sabew.org/sabewweb.nsf/e0087b5460c4a721862569c2005fa85a/64d497fa920
8973486256b39005d64a8?OpenDocument
SEJournal (environmental journalism) http://www.sej.org/pub/index.htm
Tip Sheet (environmental, science and health journalism)
http://www.sej.org/pub/index.htm
The Children's Beat
http://casey.umd.edu/casey/web/childbeat.nsf/CoverPages/542D27157B4025EA8525687
7005E8738?OpenDocument
ASPE (sports journalism) http://apse.dallasnews.com/archive.asp
Tracker (campaign finance coverage)
http://www.campaignfinance.org/tracker/
News Media & the Law http://www.rcfp.org/news/mag/
First Amendment News http://www.freedomforum.org/first/
State-specific FOI publications (NFOIC)
http://www.nfoic.org/Newsletter.html
Journal of Mass Media Ethics
http://www.catchword.com/erlbaum/08900523/contp1-1.htm
FineLine (ethics) http://www.journalism.indiana.edu/Ethics/
Dangerous Assignments (international)
http://www.cpj.org/dangerous/daindex.html
Journalism & Mass Communication Educator
http://excellent.comm.utk.edu/JMCE/
Online Journalism Review http://64.87.25.234/ojr/page_one/index.php
Black Journalism Review http://64.87.25.234/ojr/page_one/index.php
St. Louis Journalism Review http://www.stljr.org/
Minority Journalism Organizations
National Association of Black Journalists http://www.nabj.org/
National Association of Hispanic Journalists http://www.nahj.org/
Asian American Journalism Association http://www.aaja.org/

Native American Journalists Association http://www.naja.com/
Unity (coalition of NABJ, NAHJ, AAJA and NAJA)
http://www.unityjournalists,org
South Asian Journalists Association http://www.saja.org/
National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association http://www.nlgja.org/
National Association of Minority Media Executives http://www.namme.org/
Women & Journalism
International Women's Media Federation http://www.iwmf.org/
Journalism and Women Symposium http://www.jaws.org/
National Federation of Press Women http://www.nfpw.org/
Association for Women in Communications http://www.womcom.org/
Association for Women in Sports Media http://www.awsmonline.org/

Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press http://www.wifp.org/
Newspaper Management & Leadership
American Society of Newspaper Editors http://www.asne.org/
Associated Press Managing Editors http://www.apme.com/index.shtml
American Press Institute
http://www.americanpressinstitute.org/news.cfm?id=5
Inland Press Association http://www.inlandpress.org/
Magazine Publishers of America http://www.magazine.org/
Newspaper Association of America http://www.naa.org/
National Newspaper Association http://www.nna.org/
Newsletter & Electronic Publishers Association http://www.newsletters.org/

National Association of Minority Media Executives http://www.namme.org/
Journalism Research
The Freedom Forum http://www.freedomforum.org/
Pew Research Center for the People and the Press http://people-press.org/
Committee to Protect Journalists http://www.cpj.org/
Joan Shorenstein Center for Press, Politics and Public Policy
http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/index.htm
Annenberg Washington Program in Communications Policy Studies
http://www.annenberg.nwu.edu/
Freedom Forum First Amendment Center
Project for Excellence in Journalism http://www.journalism.org/
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting http://www.fair.org/

Pew Center for Civic Journalism http://www.pewcenter.org/
Center for Media and Public Affairs http://www.cmpa.com/
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
http://www.knightfdn.org/default.asp
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
http://www.aejmc.org
Neiman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University
http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/
Broadcast Journalism
Radio-Television News Directors Association http://www.rtnda.org/
National Association of Broadcasters http://www.nab.org/
Broadcast Education Association http://www.beaweb.org

Shoptalk http://www.tvspy.com/shoptalk.cfm
News Blues http://www.newsblues.com/
NewsLab http://www.newslab.org/
The Producer Page http://www.scripps.ohiou.edu/producer/
Freedom of Information & Media Law
Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press http://www.rcfp.org/
Freedom Forum First Amendment Center
Freedom of Information Center http://www.missouri.edu/~foiwww/
National Freedom of Information Coalition http://www.nfoic.org/
Communications Law
http://www.commlaw.com/FSL5CS/practiceareadescriptions/practiceareadescriptions1
099.asp
Student Press Law Center http://www.splc.org/

World Press Freedom Committee http://www.wpfc.org/Introducing.htm
Journalism History
Newseum http://www.newseum.org/
Broadcast Pioneers Library of American Broadcasting
http://www.lib.umd.edu/LAB/
Classic Typewriter Page http://xavier.xu.edu:8000/~polt/typewriters.html
Other Journalism Sites
Newswise (listings of awards and fellowships) http://www.newswise.com/
National Press Club http://npc.press.org/
Pulitzer Prize http://www.pulitzer.org//index.html
Newspaper Guild http://www.newsguild.org/

College & University Journalism
Student Press Law Center http://www.splc.org/
Internships & Job Opportunities http://www.journalism.umd.edu/intern/
Dow Jones Newspaper Fund
http://djnewspaperfund.dowjones.com/fund/default.asp
College Media Advisers http://www.collegemedia.org/
High School Journalism
ASNE's High School Journalism http://www.highschooljournalism.org/
Journalism Education Association http://www.jea.org/
Columbia Scholastic Press Association http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cspa/
National Scholastic Press Association http://studentpress.journ.umn.edu/
Quill & Scroll http://www.uiowa.edu/~quill-sc/

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Keeping Your Ears to the Ground

A Journalist's Guide to Citizen

Tamara L. Gillis, Ed. D.

A Journalist’s Guide to Citizen Participation in the News: A Primer on Community Journalism

Tamara L. Gillis, Ed. D.

Elizabethtown College, PA, USA

Department of Media Technology

Private Bag 13388

Copyright © 2003 by Tamara L. Gillis and Robert C. Moore

Printed in the Republic of Namibia

About the Authors iii

About This Guide v

Chapter 1: Developmental Communication and Civic/Community Journalism 1

Making the Connection Between Developmental Communication and Civic/Community

Thinking of Journalism in a New Way 3

Chapter 2: Public Listening and the Practice of Community Journalism 9

Key Concepts of Community Journalism 9

There are Various Layers of “Public:” Tapping into These Layers 11

Identifying What is Important to the Community 13

Limitations of the Media 15

Chapter 3: Public judgment and the Practice of Community Journalism 17

Review of Public judgment 23

Finding Solutions: Consensus 24

Helping Citizens Act 25

A Community Journalism Model for Broadcasting 28

Questions for Review 30

A Few Final Comments 31

Civic & Community Journalism Bibliography 35

Civic Journalism and Community Empowerment Organizations and Resources—Online

Civic Organizations (From the Battlefield School District) 59

Civic Journalism Online Resources (From the Texas A & M University) 61

The WWW Virtual Library: International Affairs Resources (Maintained at Elizabethtown

Dr. Tamara L. Gillis

Ed. D., Higher Education Administration, University of Pittsburgh; M.S., Communications

Dr. Robert C. Moore

Developmental Communication and

MAKING THE CONNECTION BETWEEN DEVELOPMENTAL

THINK OF JOURNALISM IN A NEW WAY

As mentioned previously, this is the bridge between developmental communications and

Civic/community journalism is not a movement among scholars. It is not a movement among

VIDEOTAPE: "Civic Journalism: A Practical Guide."

VIDEOTAPE: “Civic Journalism: It’s More Than Just Good Journalism.”

Public Listening and the Practice of

There are three key concepts of community journalism:

THERE ARE VARIOUS LAYERS OF THE “PUBLIC”

TAPPING INTO THESE LAYERS

2. The QUASI-OFFICIAL group - organizations or people who are involved in the

1. To find out how people think--what is important to them;

IDENTIFYING WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO THE

Step 1: Identify a particular community—a geographic area, a neighborhood/suburb, or issue

LIMITATIONS OF THE MEDIA

VIDEOTAPE: “New Listening Posts: Blending Investigative with Civic Journalism in

VIDEOTAPE: “Tune in Your Community, Turn on Your Viewers.”

VIDEOTAPE: “Issues in Community News”

VIDEOTAPE: “Civic Journalism: A Work in Progress.”

Public Judgment and the Practice of

Community journalism is a conversation, a dialogue, a two-way exchange. It is the media talking

VIDEOTAPE: “Civic Journalism: Covering Your Community Through Creative

VIDEOTAPE: “Self-Publishing Communities: Partnering with the New Competition.”

How Can Journalists Engaged in Community

REVIEW OF PUBLIC JUDGMENT

FINDING SOLUTIONS: CONSENSUS