Including Citizens

-- From the Poynter Election Handbook: A Guide to Campaign Coverage, 3rd Edition.

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REPORTERS IN CHARLOTTE, N.C., Madison, Wis., Boston, and in many other cities have discovered two things. They are not the only ones who can ask good questions. And when a citizen asks, or when a reporter asks a citizen's question, the candidates' answers tend to be more direct -- they feel they can't duck or dodge or dissemble.

The act of bringing citizens and their questions into the campaign coverage is empowering.

When George Bush made his first trip to Charlotte in 1992, he Òdidn't have timeÓ to answer some citizens' questions The Charlotte Observer had gathered. So the paper ran a picture of the president playing softball and under it a list of the unanswered questions, with the names of the people who had asked them. Next time through town, guess what!

A questioner at a televised Wisconsin forum demanded answers in writing from the candidates for governor on a tough budget issue and gave them a two-week deadline. They complied.

During the U.S. Senate race in 1994, a Bostonian's questions caused the normally confident and charming Ted Kennedy to become flustered and stumble through his answer.

Citizens can take part in small forums or large town meetings. And they can become involved in continuing campaign coverage by joining citizens' panels or advisory boards.

Citizen Forums and Town Meetings

These terms are often used interchangeably to describe meetings at which there is open discussion, often with candidates. We believe it's useful to draw a distinction based on size and purpose.

Why use a citizen forum?
Think of the forum as a place not just for an airing of views, but for deliberation. As such, it should be small Ð perhaps a dozen people. This allows everyone to participate and be heard. It lets people adequately discuss and work through an issue, or set priorities among issues, or come up with agreed solutions or recommendations. The deliberations are not just about coming to consensus. They are learning exercises for the citizens involved, and often for observers, too.

When larger forums are convened, they are usually then divided into smaller discussion groups. Some media partnerships have broadcast these; newspapers have run both excerpts and special reports, such as Seattle's ÒFront Porch ForumÓ pages. Wisconsin's ÒWe the PeopleÓ used forums to help citizens come to judgment on issues in advance of town hall meetings with candidates.

Why use a town meeting?
Town meetings can involve hundreds of people. Obviously, most have to be observers. But that's okay, because the purpose is to question the candidates and hear what they have to say about citizens' issues. The town meetings are particularly good television, and they've produced some provocative and newsworthy moments that have left candidates wishing for some gentler inquisitors Ð say journalists.

Finding citizens
The most widely used device is the newspaper Òreader boxÓ or broadcast notice inviting viewers and listeners to participate in the coverage. Most partnerships use the project name and logo in the notices that are designed to find volunteers for citizen forums, invite people to town meetings, and solicit opinions on issues and questions for candidates.

Responses can be tallied any number of ways. In San Francisco, the partners ask for letters, phone calls (to a voice-mailbox), e-mail, and faxes. All the partners share the responsibility for reading the mail and listening to voice-mail. Sometimes voice-mail is transcribed. Always, the callers' names and phone numbers are added to the project database.

Citizen Panels/Advisory Boards

A citizens' panel is a group of people selected from the community to work with the newsroom during the campaign. Think of it as a database of volunteer advisers or participants, depending on your needs. They may be called by reporters for reactions to debates or to suggest questions to ask the candidates. People may be brought together in small-group sessions to talk about what the candidates are doing, or to comment on the coverage and suggest stories they'd like to see. A new group of citizens may be convened each time, although some panels have remained in place throughout the campaign.

Why use citizen panels?
Citizen panels provide a dependable connection to the community, allowing newsrooms to continue learning what is on people's minds as the campaign progresses. This offers an opportunity to learn how opinions change as circumstances change.

The Charlotte Observer used a ÒpanelÓ of 500 in 1992 Ð citizens self- selected by telling the paper's pollster they'd be interested in being part of a yearlong coverage plan. Some were called and interviewed for stories. Some became participants in forums. Some sat with editors and critiqued coverage.

In San Francisco, half of the 600 people polled by the partnership agreed to follow-up contacts. The partners created a Òcitizen databaseÓ that sorted them by demographics. A companion database listed everyone who wrote in by address and concern.

Cost of citizen panels

Using citizen advisory boards does not have to be expensive. Asking people during a poll if they'd agree to participate adds nothing to the polling cost and provides a quick list, complete with demographics and a knowledge of where people stand on issues. That makes it easy to balance the panels.

A clerk can be used to compile and maintain a database of the people who respond to published or broadcast invitations.

One newspaper has developed a good reader-panel base over the years simply by asking every new subscriber and everyone who tours the building if they'd like to be part of an advisory panel.

-- Special thanks to the co-editors of the Poynter Election Handbook, Deborah Potter and Pete Weitzel.

Deborah Potter is executive director of NewsLab, a non-profit television news laboratory that works with local stations to develop new ways of telling complex or non-visual stories. Deborah spent 16 years as a network correspondent for CBS News and CNN, where she covered the White House, State Department, Congress, national politics, and the environment. From 1995 to 1998, she taught journalism at The Poynter Institute and also hosted the PBS program In the Prime.

Pete Weitzel is a former managing editor of the Miami Herald and visiting professional at Poynter. He's now a newspaper consultant and lives in Durham, NC.