Power to the People
This year The Philadelphia Inquirer not only covered the candidates running to become the city's next mayor, it also reached out to Philadelphia's citizens to ask them what they want their new leader to accomplish. The result is the intriguing "Great Expectations" project, which harnessed the power of the Web to strengthen the newspaper's mission of community journalism. Together with the University of Pennsylvania’s Project on Civic Engagement, The Inquirer's convened citizen forums, sponsored debates, hosted community bloggers, held a film contest and invited students to write essays focused on making Philly a great city. The participants produced a citizens agenda outlining steps the city should take to improve its education, economy, environment, safety, transportation, neighborhoods, budget, city services, arts and culture, and planning and zoning. Last week the Great Expectations agenda was presented to Mayor-elect Michael Nutter. A big thank you to Laura Marshall for recommending this project. www.greatexpectations07.com/agenda
Do you think more journalists should engage in this kind of community journalism?