RVoices

 

So what exactly is RVoices?

RVoices is an interactive, neighborhood-based community journalism project created by RNeighbors, Rochester’s Neighborhood Resource Center. The site was funded by a grant from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF), and financial support from Think. This site was created to foster civic engagement, creating an online community. RNeighbors believes communication and citizen involvement are vital for great neighborhoods and a great city.

By Doug McGill
August 14, 2006
Originally published on The McGill Report.
Reprinted with permission from author.

ROCHESTER, MN -- Since I began in journalism in 1977 the profession has sharply dropped in public standing, inexorably squandering the cultural authority it earned during the Civil Rights, Vietnam War, and Watergate eras.

Slowly journalism has transformed from the mighty "press" into a meek appendage of the "mass media," often using what power it has retained merely to reinforce political paralysis, poisoned public discourse, and America's weakened image abroad. And it has been a cheerleader of the obsessive consumerism that causes so many personal and public health crises, economic imbalances, and global environmental threats.