Jtm-pnw-thurs-evening

JTM-PNW-Thursday evening discussion

Here are notes of Thursday's evening's discussion at the Journalism That Matters-Pacific Northwest convening. More than 230 participants are participating over three days.

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The dean of the journalism program at the University of Washington, introduces the evening.

Michael Fancher, one of the organizers of JTM-PNW, and a former executive editor of the Seattle Times, says it is the right people, the right issue at the right time that brought folks together. The Puget Sound region has perhaps the largest disruption in main stream media over the last couple of years of any U.S. metro region, Fancher says. But it also may have the most active emerging new-media scene.

In looking at participation in JTM-PNW, the biggest cluster of people registered are from civic organizations and the community. "That's really exciting, these are people who are not doing journalism themselves but they see it as important to what they are doing." Fancher introduces the three people who will provide tonight's discussion leadership.

• Fancher names Norm Rice, the former mayor of Seattle. "Heart and brains turn into innovation and collaboration," Fancher says of him.

• Now Sanjay Bhatt of The Seattle Times, introduces the journalism representative for tonight's discussion and names Tracy Record, editor and co-publisher of West Seattle Blog, now in its fifth year. From editor driven to community driven, from mass to community.

• Tonight's third speaker is introduced by Sherri Herndon. The speaker is artist Chris Jordan. If we don't have the role of the artist connected with the community, the community suffers. "The artist is the unacknowledged legislator of their time," said Shelly, according to Herndon. Are they ahead of the curve, seeing something that isn't being seen by others?

Rice starts first and describes his background as a tape editor at KUMO television before becomming mayor. He tells a story about when pupil bussing as an issue in the city a citizen said she was going to vote against him because he was for bussing. He said he talk to her and couldn't convince her to change her mind. But after the discussion, she said: "I believe you heard me." That was a revelation for him, Rice said. The key question he said is: "Can you frame a question in a way that brings outs people's aspirations and dreams?"

Rice used that in much of his work as mayor -- trying to get people to express their aspirations and reams and get other people to hear and engage. "People felt there was a spirit of working to solve [the bussing] problem." In the end, people voted against bussing but for Rice. "People got to vote both their fears and their asiration."

There has to be a better way to tell stories to the press, to express ourselves. It's different than a political process.

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