1999 Convention Paper Abstracts
Civic Journalism Interest Group
Civic Journalism And Community Policing: Potential For Partnership • Kathryn B. Campbell, Wisconsin-Madison • The reforms movements of civic journalism and community policing are intended to replace or substantially modify entrenched models of media practice and law enforcement. However, no academic research has been completed on the theoretical or empirical connections and interactions between community policing and civic journalism models. Civic journalism, despite its own liabilities, may provide a way for specific policing concerns about protecting individual rights and establishing community norms to be addressed.
Civic Journalism And Gender Diversity In News-Story Sourcing • Brian L. Massey Nanyang Technological University, Singapore • The proposition that civic journalism corrects for traditional journalism’s weaknesses was tested for the under-representation of women as sources in traditionally reported news. By comparison, women’s appearance in news stories as information sources increased under civic journalism, but only marginally and only in stories reported by female journalists. Men sources were still numerically dominant. The results of this case study raise questions about civic journalism’s long term success at reforming traditional newswork.
Constructing Meaning: The Role Of The Audience In News Writing • Jack Morris, Missouri • Writing theory and practice are shifting from a linear product paradigm that focuses on delivery of facts to an interactive process paradigm that focuses on construction of meaning. This shift is evident in composition, anthropology, linguistics, philosophy, literary theory and psychology, and it is the root of the civic-traditional journalism debate. This paper traces the history of the construction of meaning movement and shows how it parallels the development of more interactive communication models.
Following Their First Steps: A Lesson In Launching Public Journalism • Rebecca A. Payne, Arizona • Public journalists experimenting with ways to improve daily coverage have a greater challenge than their contemporaries who focused on “project” reporting. This case study examines the public journalism efforts of one newspaper, The State, in Columbia, South Carolina, to reconnect with readers and improve coverage. Results emphasize the importance of choosing a topic and for including reporters in decision-making from the beginning. A poorly conceived project and one that has little support from newsroom staff may actually harm rather than heal connections with readers.
Media Coverage of Sports and Politics: An Examination of the Press’ Role in Campaigns for Professional Sports Stadium Construction • Robert Trumpbour, Pennsylvania State University • In recent years, a new “Super Bowl” has emerged for sports franchise owners, with the construction of a taxpayer subsidized stadium as the ultimate prize. This paper argues that civic journalism might offer a better coverage strategy than the traditional reporting methods when reporting on political attempts to publicly fund sports stadia. In many regards, the stakes of the stadium finance game are much more significant for the typical citizen and sports fan since the result has been franchise relocations and/or new taxes in order to subsidize stadium construction for professional sports franchises.
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