| Topics: Civic Communication Wisconsin State Journal & Wisconsin Public Television, continued The State Journal has engaged in two civic journalism projects. "We the People" brought the paper and local PBS and CBS television stations together to develop issues forums on the 1992 election, hold mock legislative and national budget sessions, and conduct citizen "grand juries." The "City of Hope" project investigated the rise of urban problems, trying to get beyond surface alarm. Community leaders met with the paper's editor to review the findings and prepare to take action in response. Index Public Journalism and Social Capital: The Case of Madison, Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Journal & Wisconsin Public Television,"We the People"
Wisconsin State Journal,"City of Hope" Contents Wisconsin State Journal,"City of Hope" City of Hope As low-income residents from larger urban areas moved into Madison -- a heterogeneous, white-state capital that is home to a major university -- the Wisconsin State-Journal launched a major reporting project that tried to get beyond surface alarm. Teams of reporters spent months investigating causes of the emerging urban problems, looking at crime and violence, employment, deteriorating neighborhoods and education. Just before publication of each component, Editor Frank Denton chaired an open, on-the-record meeting of community leaders, reviewing the paper's findings and asking for action in response. The paper reported major new initiatives that emerged in the meetings, among them plans for a jobs summit. 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. Wisconsin State Journal (newspaper)
1901 Fish Hatchery Rd.
P.O. Box 8056
Madison, WI 53713
(608) 252-6000 (phone)
(608) 252-6119 (fax) Ownership
Lee Enterprises Group (20 Midwest papers)
No. newsroom employees: 85 FTE Circulation
90,000 (daily)
170,000 (Sunday)
Circulation Area (population)
Primary area: Dane Co. (200,000)
Initiative
City of Hope Dates
1992-1994 Lead Editor
David Stoeffler Executive in charge
Frank Denton, editor When and how did this initiative get started?
Denton came up with the idea as he heard community reaction to newcomers as, essentially, criminals and welfare bums. What are the goals of the initiative?
"To go beyond saying 'Oh, isn't this terrible,' " investigating root causes of emerging urban problems. To convene leaders who didn't usually meet or work directly together, and push them toward solutions. "These (meetings) could never have happened if the newspaper hadn't insisted," Denton said. "We are the independent community leader and they rely on us for endorsements." What does the initiative entail?
Major reporting on each element of the project encompassed both statistical sourcing, "expert" response and extensive interviews in the community. As stories were written, lead editor David Stoeffler organized meetings with leadership, inviting the mayor, the elected county executive, the chancellor of the University of Wisconsin (Donna Shallala, prior to her appointment as U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services) the head of the United Way, the head of the local technical college, the superintendent of schools and "others as needed." At meetings in the week before publication, participants were given a handout summarizing findings in bullet form, with reporters and editors detailing the information for 20 or 30 minutes. Denton chaired the subsequent hour-long discussion, focusing on what the information meant and what should be done about it. The close of the meeting was devoted to creating direction for the response -- for example, at the end of one, the director of the United Way agreed to chair a subcommittee that mapped available social services. How many people are working on it?
Three or four, including the paper's lead investigative reporter, education reporter and urban affairs reporter, with others as appropriate. (Primary team: Andy Hall, Joel Broadway, Joyce Dehli) What does it look like in the newspaper?
Each component ran as a series, starting on Sunday with two or three open inside pages. The crime package, for example, featured a huge map of the metro area, showing crime rates by neighborhood; reporters had developed the information by merging data bases that had never been linked before, then backed up data with exhaustive interviews. The employment component, designed to respond to complaints that "poor people ought to go to work" examined the nature of the community's largest pool of entry-level jobs: low paying with no benefits and few opportunities for advancement. Copy carried "City of Hope" sig. Response to the Initiative In the newsroom:
Reporters were nervous about briefing leaders and asking for action, "though nobody I know of was outright opposed," Denton said. "...It is uncomfortable for a reporter to listen to criticism before publication, but that's when we ought to hear." Staff discomfort diminished over time, especially as Denton kept a promise not to change copy. Criticism was considered a way to flag holes; comments from the meeting did sometimes prompt additional reporting or new sidebars. In one case, the mayor complained because reporters had interviewed his staff, not him; the reporters then interviewed the mayor. On another occasion, the paper pulled together a feature on existing social service resources after a meeting where leaders said the community was not aware of the range of services. After the meeting in which leaders agreed to convene a community jobs summit, a sidebar announcing the plans appeared on 1A under Denton's own byline. Denton believes reporters gained a sense of authority as experts in the life of the community. Denton recalled one exchange when the mayor "stood up and said, 'You've got rocks in your head, you don't know what's going on in that neighborhood.' " The reporter's reply: "I spent four months in that neighborhood, and I do know." The project also prompted predictable projects-reporting jealousies and complaints: This takes too much time and hurts our everyday mission. Elements incorporated into regular newsroom routines and/or culture:
The project prompted the paper to establish an urban affairs beat encompassing housing, jobs, young people in trouble, crime, violence and neighborhoods. Stories from the beat carry the "City of Hope" sig when appropriate. In the community:
After a report on problems in one neighborhood, a community campaign to establish a community center there emerged. Denton said he is not certain that readers fully recognize the impact of bringing together leaders who had not worked together before; he has only an anecdotal "sense" that the community has a better understanding of the root causes of the cycles of crime and poverty. Among political leaders
The mayor was the biggest critic of the process, objecting more strenuously than any member of the news staff. After a few meetings, he wrote Denton "a long, pained letter," withdrawing as a participant. He thought the project was "improper," that the press should act as an independent critic, leaving officials to "respond or not." Denton wrote back, explaining his belief that the newspaper and officials should talk, given their shared goal of "a better city, a better life for everybody." He details his position this way: "It's a lot easier for us to lob grenades from our fancy offices than to get constructively involved. Listening, reporting and demanding accountability are harder than gathering statistics." After a private conversation with Denton, the mayor came back to meetings. Overall, the project itself was complicated by "a lot of internal politics among people at the table," few of whom ever had worked together directly and some who were long-time mutual antagonists. What's next:
A community jobs summit among 40 county and state business leaders is planned for July 1994, led by the mayor and the county executive. (Denton served on the planning committee.) Its goal is to develop a strategy to both attracts new jobs and help guide people along a career path to develop skills. The latter strategy would, in Denton's words, mean that "If you show up for work, we'll show you how to work your way up." A consultant with experience developing job creation strategies in Washington State will act as convener. Denton would like to broadcast the forum on the PBS affiliate as a bridge to the "We the People" project, deliberative forums staged by the newspaper and broadcast on both public and commercial channels. Case study written by Lisa Austin, Assistant Director of the Project on Public Life and the Press, June 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 Journalism and Social Capital: The Case of Madison, Wisconsin
Wisconsin State Journal & Wisconsin Public Television,"We the People"
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