By: Joe Strupp Philadelphia Gets Ready For Republican Convention
For the pack of national reporters and political columnists converging
on Philadelphia for the Republican National Convention starting next
Monday, the hunt for juicy tidbits about delegates, both major
parties, and prospective vice presidential candidates shouldn't be
difficult.
But getting a line on the host city's population figures, historical
data, and current issues normally would not come as easily. In this
case, however, there is the Philadelphia News Project. A nonprofit
initiative of the Fels Center of Government at the University of
Pennsylvania, the project provides reporters and editors with a slew
of information about the City of Brotherly Love, ranging from the
average annual rainfall (40 inches) to the city's bond rating (BBB).
'Reporters will be writing about the city, and we are trying to give
them an easy way to get unbiased information,' said Terry Gillen,
director of the project that's being funded through a $250,000 Pew
Charitable Trusts grant. 'This allows them to write stories that have
some depth.'
A variety of information for journalists is available via a free
50-page booklet and at http://www.phillynewsproject.org. Presented on
the Web site along with a list of books about Philadelphia, city
financial facts, and links to other locally based sites is a collection
of 21 media briefing papers created by the project's staff. They
provide insights on issues that include housing development, crime
statistics, and welfare reform.
'[Journalists] can get a real sense of what is going on here,' Gillen
said. 'They will know what the issues are.'
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is an associate editor for
Editor & Publisher magazine.
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