CONTEST ENTRY MATERIAL
Submitted for your consideration is a representative sample of the collective effort from our reporting, photojournalism, and production teams.
From the 468 stories filed over the last year, we present you with our best effort at “moving the needle” on a life-or-death issue.
Please find our letter to the contest judges here.
A viewing guide explaining our story selection is available here.
SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL
For the website containing all 468 stories reported as part of Project: Drive Safer, please visit www.projectdrivesafer.com
MASTER STORY LIST
The TMJ4 News team reported 468 stories over the course of Project: Drive Safer. The video submissions with this entry represent but a portion of our effort. For more details on the individual reports and a complete accounting of our daily commitment to the project, please see the attached master story list.
LEGISLATION
During Project: Drive Safer, the Wisconsin legislature introduced multiple bills addressing reckless driving and its underlying causes. The bills’ authors credit the dogged reporting of the TMJ4 News team for their passage. The text of the four bills signed into law is attached.
TOWN HALLS
TMJ4 News twice gathered the community for town hall meetings on reckless driving in Milwaukee. First, we heard from city, county, and state officials on what the problem and solutions look like from their perspective. Several months later, we gathered a group of leading community members to focus on the solutions they would like to see based on their unique experiences.
MARKETING AND PROMOTION
WTMJ-TV dedicated more than $370,000 in commercial time to a public service campaign to keep the message of Project: Drive Safer top of mind outside of our news coverage. We also reached people on Milwaukee County Transit buses with a four-month-long campaign that played our message on every bus in the system.
ADOPT A DRIVER CAMPAIGN
Our reporting discovered a lack of access to affordable driver education classes was a major barrier to safer streets. In response, WTMJ-TV, the Scripps Howard Foundation, and the Greater Milwaukee Urban League formed a partnership to give disadvantaged students better access to driver’s ed. After a month-long on-air fundraising campaign, we delivered more than $13,000 to the Urban League. That is enough to put at least 30 students through the Urban League’s classroom and behind-the-wheel program.
OTHER COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Feedback from the community was overwhelming. More than 200 people shared stories of how reckless driving impacted their lives. Praise for our commitment to this issue – and improving people’s lives – came from every level of government. Even a Catholic Bishop in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee proclaimed Project: Drive Safer as “an answer to his prayers.”