News

Pew Center funds kiosks

March 19, 2002

WASHINGTON - A newspaper is setting up neighborhood kiosks as one of many high-tech initiatives funded by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism this year, according to a news release issued by the Center.

The Spokesman-Review, of Spokane, Wash., received $18,000 to develop three Web-based beats to cover virtual communities of interest. As part of the grant, the paper will install computer kiosks as community listening and e-mail posts so that those without home Internet access can be part of the project, the release stated.

The paper's new beats, under the direction of interactive editors, will cover neighborhood groups, the high-tech industry and politically active, Web-savvy young people. Using targeted e-mail lists, the journalists will frame stories from their Web interactions and assist people with writing stories and commentary. An interactive opinion section will supplement the newspaper's opinion pages and generate more discussion on hot topics.

Jack Nelson, chairman of the Pew Advisory Board and chief Washington correspondent for the Los Angeles Times, said, "Advances in technology have sharpened newsroom appetites to find ways to engage citizens directly in tough issues and figure out some solutions."

The Pew Center, based in Washington, D.C., supports some of the costs not normally available in newsroom budgets for projects to engage readers in the issues. The Center has funded $210,000 for 14 initiatives in 2002, an average of about $15,000 each.

Since its inception in 1993, the Pew Center has supported 121 civic journalism experiments to help give ordinary people a voice in the news. At national workshops for journalists and educators, the Center shares the lessons learned. It also distributes training videos and publications.

The Pew Center, located in Washington, D.C., is an initiative of Philadelphia-based The Pew Charitable Trusts. In 2000 the Trusts had about $4.8 billion in assets and granted more than $230 million to 302 non-profit organizations.