National Civic Review 91:2

Contents

NOTE FROM THE PRESIDENT
Christopher T. Gates

ARTICLES

Deliberative Dialogue to Expand Civic Engagement: What Kind of Talk Does Democracy Need?
Martha L. McCoy, Patrick L. Scully

Public deliberation is widely recognized as essential to a well-functioning democracy. Officials from the Study Circles Resource Center identify essential principles of deliberative dialogue linked to political engagement.

Enlisting Citizens: Building Political Legitimacy
Matt Leighninger

Statewide deliberative projects in Oklahoma, Minnesota, and New York offer valuable lessons for involving citizens in public decision making.

Public Participation in Environmental Decision Making: Is It Working?
Matthew McKinney, Will Harmon

Officials from the Montana Consensus Council report on an assessment of public participation in environmental policymaking in Montana and provide recommendations for improving the quality of such involvement.

Trends in Philanthropy: Democracy as Homeland Security
David Mathews

The president of the Kettering Foundation describes a civil investment initiative among foundations to rethink grantmaking procedures and target ways of supporting civic learning.

Changing Channels: How the Nonprofit Sector Can Help Improve Local Television News
Sean P. Treglia

With the coming move from analog to digital broadcasting, commercial broadcasters may no longer be under any obligation to provide news that serves the public interest. However, the nonprofit sector may be able to guide commercial electronic media toward improvements in the quality of television news that are also commercially viable.

Fixing Elections: The Failure of America's Winner-Take-All Politics
Steven Hill

Majoritarian elections are having many deleterious effects on voter participation and representation.

Big Wins for Democracy: San Francisco and Vermont Vote for Instant Runoff Voting
Eric C. Olson, Steven Hill

Instant runoff voting continues to attract interest and victories at the polls.

States and Campaign Finance Reform
David Schultz

A review of the growing impact of money on state-level campaigns and elections concludes that disclosure laws should be complemented by public financing mechanisms.