Over the last ten years numerous exciting project initiatives have developed out of JTM unconferences around the country. From the Common Language Program, informing Americans of crucial issues of our times, and spot.us which focuses on the public commission of journalists to report on overlooked, yet important community topics, JTM has served as an incubator for innovations in the field of communications.

Journalism That Matters Initiatives

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Known as “collaboratories,”  the following initiatives are projects that have sprung from gatherings and events that JTM sponsors, as well as from individual members. The initiatives are as varied as the interests and needs of the people they serve.

Pacific Northwest

Creating Abundant Journalism: Led by Mike Fancher, former Seattle Times executive editor, this group plans to link journalism projects and initiatives with potential donors. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

Media Mapping: Jacob Caggiano of the Washington News Council is mapping media news and information outlets across the state. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

JTMPNW Collaboratory: Lead by JTM co-founder Peggy Holman, this group provides support for all the initiatives. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

Digital Literacy Initiative: Common Language Project leader, Sarah Stuteville leads this initiative aimed towards teaching students how to become more informed media consumers and  participants. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

TAO of Journalism: Washington News Council president, John Hamer, is developing a pledge and seal of transparent, accountable, open journalism for display on media websites. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

Public Eye: Lead by former Seattle Times op-ed writer, Matt Rosenberg, this project is developing a public document database called “Public Data Ferret.” See calendar for meeting times and locations.

Global Health Reporting: Pamela Kilborn-Miller of Connecting for Change Program at the Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education,  Dr. Michael McCarthy of the Local Health Guide and Sanjay Bhatt, president of Seattle AAJA head this initiative surveying the health sector for future reporting. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

Microfinance: The initiative is investigating ways to provide business and micro-finance training for journalists. See calendar for meeting times and locations.

Website Technology: Headed by Brian Glanz and Cate Montana, the JTM Website Initiative is in the process of updating the JTM website, creating an online community site for JTM members and journalists and developing a potential business platform for the JTM Collaboratory providing website hosting and other online opportunities for journalists nationwide.

Detroit

The Living Textbook helps seventh grade, primarily Arab American students to tell their stories.  Its focus on young, diverse story-tellers met our criteria well.Principals: Emilia Askari and Joe Grimm.

Operation Promise: College Connection will provide an interactive, multi-media search for Michigan colleges, universities and trade schools which qualify for the Kalamazoo Promise Funding.  It experiments with crowd-sourcing and user generated content.
Principal: Sonya Bernard-Hollins.

Front Street – www.detiptv.com uses the Internet to enable community to take greater responsibility for their own information.  It experiments with TV on the web, working with Black, Arab, Latino, and White communities. Principal: Tim Moore.

The Michigan News Center – www.MichiganNewsCenter.org – is a non-partisan source for issues of public interest, especially investigative reporting that performs a watchdog and accountability role.  It approaches a traditional journalistic role in a new way, with a stated intention to share tools, equipment, and their platform with voices in the African-American, Latino, Muslim, and Caucasian communities. Principal: Steve Wilson.

Red Ink – http://www.make-them-think.org/ – provides public, socially driven and open source software for understanding consumer spending patterns. It experiments with visualization and public accessibility to aggregate data to support economic understanding and better quality social action. Principal: Ryan O’Toole.

Re-inventing Assignment Detroit – Transform Time Inc.’s Assignment Detroit into a multiplatform, community centered vision whose mission is to reimagine the image of Detroit. Principal: Juanita Anderson.

Ongoing projects

• Common Language Project – Kalamazoo
  It’s mission: to engage, educate and inform Americans of all ages on the crucial human issues of our time through innovative and accessible journalism.
• spot.us – Washington, D.C.
  Community powered reporting – the public can commission and participate with journalists to do reporting on important and perhaps overlooked topics.