| Topics: Communication Tallahassee Democrat In its extensive "Public Agenda" project, the Tallahassee Democrat is engaging the views of citizens and measuring citizen interest and attitudes on democracy and participation. In "Your Vote, Your Future," the paper focuses its election issues coverage and encourages voter registration. Case study plus. Index Public Agenda
Your Vote, Your Future Contents Your Vote, Your Future Your Vote, Your Future Using a poll to focus coverage, the Democrat honed in on election issues and encouraged voter registration in partnership with the local elections supervisor and public broadcasting stations. In the week before the election, election issues were highlighted in a series of public TV programs, simulcast by public radio, featuring Democrat reporters; these were jointly promoted by the paper and the public stations. The initiative was supported by efforts from staffers across the building. 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. Tallahassee Democrat (newspaper)
P.O. Box 990
277 N. Magnolia Dr.
Tallahassee FL 32302-0990
(904) 599-2150 (phone-Heldman)
(904) 599-2100 (gen'l))
(904) 599-2155 (fax) Ownership
Knight-Ridder
No. newsroom employees: 60 Circulation
57,900 (daily)
78,600 (Sunday)
Circulation Area (population):
Leon County (150,000) Initiative
Your vote - Your future Dates
Spring 1992-November 1992
Similar coverage repeated in 1993 and 1994 legislative cycles Lead Editor
Judy Doyle, capital reporter/Bill Berlow, gov't editor Executive in charge
Lou Heldman, executive editor When and how did this initiative get started?
Modeled after Wichita and Charlotte voter projects, the initiative was drafted early in 1992 by the paper's government editor and capital bureau reporter, with strong senior management support. What were the goals of the initiative?
To increase voter registration, turnout and knowledge; to hold office seekers to higher standards; to make the newspaper a more valuable tool for readers; to enhance the credibility of the paper by markedly increasing coverage of issues and candidates. What did the initiative entail?
A $10,000 opinion poll identified voter issues. Coverage and opinion pages highlighted registration efforts; other stories focused on voting behavior, including profiles of people who hadn't voted in the past. The paper teamed up with local public stations to develop "Meet the Press"-type panels broadcast before the election; the stations also promoted the paper's voter tab. Leon County Elections Supervisor Ion Sancho and his staff were close partners throughout the process. Internally, newsroom efforts were promoted throughout the building with a "Your Vote" T-shirt, which staffers were encouraged to wear each Friday and with an outdoor banner on the building's facade. The business side supported the initiative with parties, etc. How many people worked on it?
The initiative involved almost everyone in the newsroom; every department - sports to food - contributed stories. Heldman considers shared responsibilities key to the initiative's success. The two staffers who drafted the plan were devoted to it exclusively for six months and coordinated coverage under supervision of the managing editor. What did it look like in the newspaper?
Coverage launched in July 1993, identified by a logo. Almost daily, the paper offered registration information; stories ran with similar frequency. Coverage culminated in a "Your Vote"tab. Response to the Initiative In the newsroom:
Morale improved dramatically. Heldman credits the energy and enthusiasm brought to the project by coordinators Judy Doyle and Bill Berlow. Elements incorporated into regular newsroom routines and/or culture:
Reporters are developing their own projects. Also, the voter initiative model specifically will be applied to an initiative on children, focusing on problems facing kids from the prenatal stage to age 5. Response in the community:
Voter registration rose 15 percent, from 102,300 to 117,664, between September 1 and the close of registration for the November election. Tallahassee turnout was the highest in the state. Election Supervisor Sancho credits the paper's role. Overall lessons - successes and failures:
Designating enthusiastic "champions" for the initiative was crucial to its success, Heldman said. However, because the initiative was so closely planned, coverage and campaign were sometimes divergent; news of the race itself sometimes fell by the wayside. "At some point you have to get beyond theory and realize there are real people out there doing things that aren't predictable," Heldman said. Case study written by Lisa Austin, Assistant Director of the Project on Public Life and the Press, October 1994. Lisa is also a member of the CPN Journalism editorial team. Update A focus on citizens drawn from the election coverage experience and greater familiarity with public journalism techniques characterized Tallahassee's 1994 legislative coverage. Throughout the session, reporting focused on the two major issues: school finance and juvenile justice, tracking the efforts of two citizens who wanted to make changes effecting the issues. Their goals were chronicled at the outset of the session, along with a tab double-truck graphic (designed as a clip-out board game) that showed how a bill became law. Assistant Metro Editor Judy Doyle said reporters were somewhat skeptical about integrating a citizen's voice or using the two individuals to track the in-and-outs of the legislative process, raising what have become the "usual questions" among reporters unfamiliar with public journalism: Do the citizens really know enough about this to make their comments and experiences valuable for other readers? The attitudes shifted somewhat during the course of the legislative session, but the questions were not entirely resolved. "But we've let citizens know individuals can and do have a place in the political process, and that's really important in and of itself," she said. Update written by Lisa Austin, Assistant Director of the Project on Public Life and the Press, July 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 Index Public Agenda
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