Reporters and Editors Meet to Share Statehouse Hub Pilot Project: Final Recommendations Due January 31
January 22, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
More than two dozen reporters and editors from across the country met last month to help shape an emerging project that promises to bolster one of public radio's most important beats. Sponsored by NPR's Local News Initiative, the group convened at WITF in Harrisburg, PA to explore how the establishment of a Statehouse Hub could strengthen the caliber of public radio's government and political reporting.
As envisioned during the discussion, a Statehouse Hub could provide a variety of support activities including edits for one-person statehouse bureaus, new training opportunities tailored to the special challenges of political reporting, enhanced peer-to-peer networking and multi-state collaboration on issues of mutual interest. The Statehouse effort is one of three LNI Hub pilot projects. Others include the Southern Region Editing/Reporting Pilot Project and a proposed NPR Producer/Editor Residency Project now underway at KNAU, Flagstaff.
One common challenge that emerged in the Statehouse Hub discussions was balancing the daily demand for spot coverage with the in-depth "connect-the-dots" reporting that public radio listeners value most. Many expressed the hope that an LNI Statehouse Hub could help shift the emphasis of statehouse reporting to deeper, more insightful coverage and, ultimately, better service to public radio listeners.
"The meetings were extremely productive," said WITF News Director Scott Gilbert. "Reporters and editors were able to connect with each other and compare needs, and play a key role in fleshing out the details of this exciting project."
WITF will submit its final recommendations for a Statehouse Hub to the LNI at the end of January.
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More information can be found at www.statehousehub.org and the hub's new, interactive site, statehousehub.wikispaces.com.
The Local News Initiative is a national effort to help stations cover their communities the way NPR covers the world. The LNI pursues this goal through projects that improve programming quality, develop station talent, and encourage more efficient and collaborative use of resources.
Contact:
Scott Gilbert, News Director
WITF, Harrisburg, PA
717 910 2905
scott_gilbert@witf.org
Marcia Alvar
LNI Project Manager
310 387 3408
malvar@npr.org
