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Topics:
Civic Communication
Minneapolis
Star-Tribune
Minnesota's Talking
The Star-Tribune's
"Minnesota's Talking" project has organized hundreds of neighborhood
roundtables: small groups that come together monthly to discuss
issues of public concern in discussions moderated by volunteers
and held in living rooms, schools and libraries, church basements
and other locations. The Star-Tribune selects topics, offers discussion
materials and publishes a monthly feature introducing the issue
and inviting readers to participate. Topics have included the
economy, health care, welfare reform, violent crime and racism.
A report reflecting roundtable discussions appears monthly in
the newspaper. In its first year, the project has attracted 1,500
to 2,000 Minnesotans; numbers have dropped with the project's
visibility in the paper.
A
case study by Project
on Public Life and the Press
New York University, Department of Journalism,10 Washington Pl.
New York, NY 10003, (212) 998-3793
©
Project on Public Life and the Press,1994 The Project is funded
by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Minneapolis
Star-Tribune
(newspaper)
425 Portland Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 673-4524 (phone)
(612) 673-7568 (fax)
Ownership
Cowles Media
No. newsroom employees: 350
Circulation
400,00 (daily)
600,00 (Sunday)
Circulation Area:
Seven-county Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area
Initiative
Minnesota's Talking
Dates
Sept. 1992 to present
Coordinator
Jeremy Iggers, staff writer
Executive in Charge
Tim McGuire, executive editor
When
and how did this initiative get started?
Star-Tribune ethics columnist Jeremy Iggers suggested the roundtables
as he sought to engage readers in issues he was writing about.
Intrigued by evening discussions in private homes organized by
the Utne Reader, a monthly magazine based in Minneapolis, Iggers
contacted National Issues Forums (NIF) and the Study Circles Resource
Center (SCRC), both of which assist local groups in organizing
discussions of public issues. In 1992, Iggers proposed to Star
Tribune editors that the paper sponsor a roundtable series. "They
liked the community-oriented focus," Iggers said. A few months
later, the paper adopted a new mission statement emphasizing its
role as "a support system" for citizens. The roundtables now fit
comfortably into that mission.
What
are the goals of the initiative?
To engage more citizens in public discussion of issues that concern
all; to involve the newspaper in a process that connects citizens
to each other.
What
does the initiative entail?
The discussion groups are led by volunteer facilitators who organize
monthly meetings and help publicize the topic. Iggers selects
issues for the coming months and mails every facilitator a packet
that includes a "discussion guide." It summarizes the issue and
presents a variety of policy options for citizens to debate. Most
of these guides are produced by NIF or SCRC. Copies are made available
to roundtable participants to provide a common grounding for the
talk. Iggers writes a feature at the end of each month giving
an overview of what was said at the roundtables and inviting readers
to join in the next month's discussions.
How
many people are working on it?
Iggers initially worked with one half-time desk assistant, plus
100 or so community volunteers.
What
does it look like in the newspaper?
Monthly reports summarizing the discussions, plus some promotional
ads and features.
Response
to the Initiative
In
the newsroom:
"Indifference from most," said Iggers, "with a few who are enthusiastic
and a clear minority who question the wisdom of the paper organizing
events it reports on. Some feel it's not a good use of our resources."
Elements
incorporated into regular newsroom routines and/or culture:
The Star Tribune recently undertook a major initiative on health
care. It began with a 36-page, A-section supplement, and was followed
by an invitation to participate in roundtables and by a public
forum on health care cosponsored with WCCO, the local CBS affiliate.
In cooperation with the Minnesota Public Health Association, 50
additional roundtables were organized for this issue. Reporters
from the Star Tribune attended 2-3 roundtables each evening during
the health care campaign, and reports on the "mood of the meetings"
appeared in the paper the next day.
Response
in the community:
Anecdotal evidence only. According to Iggers, some discussions
have formed outside the official orbit of the roundtables after
citizens heard about the idea. A few groups formed to discuss
race relations have continued on that theme, rather than moving
on to the next subject.
Among
political leaders:
Health care experts from Minnesota's U.S. senatorial offices visited
the roundtables. State legislators have occasionally shown up
at roundtables on a variety of subjects.
Overall
lessons - successes and failures:
Iggers said, "I do think there's a hunger for this sort of thing,
but on the other hand 2,000 people is not a lot compared to the
calls we get on the sports line after a Vikings game." Racism
roundtables drew well, but didn't influence discussions of race
the way Iggers "fantasized it would." Low minority participation
demonstrated the paperŐs white, middle-class readership base.
What's
next:
The Star Tribune has devoted 1.5 editorial positions (including
Iggers) to design and implement projects that, in the paper's
words, "enable our readers to reconnect or connect with their
newspaper, their political system, their communities and each
other." Iggers plans a project on police/community relations,
using the paper as a forum to improve discussion between micro-communities
and police, and get citizens involved in improving neighborhood
safety. Also planned: a "neighborhood repair kit" to help readers
make neighborhoods better places to live.
Case study
written by Jay Rosen, Director of the Project on Public Life and
the Press, October 1993. Jay is also a member of the CPN Journalism
editorial team.
Update
"Minnesota's Talking"
has become "a project in transition," as reporter and coordinator
Jeremy Iggers puts it. In fact, the paper may be approaching the
point where it will need to decide whether to change the project
or drop it. By mid-1994, participation levels had dropped from
the thousands to the low hundreds. Although more than 150 discussion
groups once had tackled issues, only 19 responded in early 1994
when asked whether they wanted to continue.
At the paper the
project has essentially lost high visibility; it is no longer
a priority of the promotion department. There clearly is executive
permission for the project, but leadership enthusiasm that would
move the project into a broader practice of public journalism
is not evident at this point.
Living up to its
name, the project has proved to be almost exclusively about generating
talk, rather than providing feedback mechanisms for citizen voices.
Issues raised in discussions do not permeate a wall between the
newsroom and the project itself; Iggers is usually the only reporter
to attend any of the discussions. "A lot of people came into the
process, enjoyed it, then eventually started wondering what is
all this leading to? Is this just talk?" Iggers suggested that
groups invite policymakers to attend and listen, and, until budget
shifts cut a half-time newsroom assistant, the paper forwarded
discussion questionnaires to policymakers. The local Citizens
League, known for its substantial reports on community problems,
has begun to consider a linkage with the "Minnesota's Talking"
project.
A final logistical
note: New subjects monthly meant "Minnesota's Talking" quickly
ran through discussion materials from the National Issues Forum
and the Study Circles Resource Center. Moreover, the cost of purchasing
these materials for study - or even for photo reproduction - proved
more than participants often wished to bear.
Update written
by Lisa Austin, Assistant Director of the Project on Public Life
and the Press, May 1994. Lisa is also a member of the CPN Journalism
editorial team.
Case study
written by Lisa Austin, Assistant Director of the Project on Public
Life and the Press, September 1994. Lisa is also a member of the
CPN Journalism editorial team.
More Information
Project
on Public Life and the Press
New York University
Department of Journalism
10 Washington Pl.
New York, NY 10003
(212) 998-3793
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