Browse > Home / About

About


OurTahoe.org is an award-winning website produced by the Graduate Program in Interactive Environmental Journalism at the Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno.

The purpose of the site is to provide a place for the Tahoe community to engage in conversation about issues that matter to residents and visitors. We believe that journalists are facilitators, not mediators, of the public conversation, and citizens are actors, not consumers, of information. This site is a place for us to test that premise and to provide a useful resource for the Tahoe community.

In collaboration with our media partners — the McClatchy Foundation, the Gannett Foundation, Reno Gazette-Journal, Sunbelt Communications and Swift Communications — regional policymakers, scientists, and Tahoe citizens, our faculty and graduate students are exploring ways to put new media technologies to work for a broader democratic purpose. OurTahoe.org is the public expression of this work.

The focus of our efforts is the environment at Lake Tahoe. A designated national treasure, Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem is under threat, and regional agencies such as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency are in the midst of developing plans to reverse this trend. However, improving the health of Tahoe’s ecosystem will depend on the active participation of community members. This context presents an opportunity to test our vision for 21st century news: can we build forms of journalism that help the Tahoe community build the civic capacity to respond to the environmental issues it faces?

The work on OurTahoe.org received an Honorable Mention in the J-Lab Knight-Batten Awards for Innovation in Sept. 2007 and has been named a finalist in the student journalism category in the 2007 Online News Association awards .

You are invited to join the conversation by submitting your own stories, photos, comments and suggestions. A “Submit a Story” form is available on the front page of the site, in the upper right hand corner. Please comment on the stories you see on the site, and email us with any questions, comments, or concerns: support@ourtahoe.org or call at (775) 784-4198.

2007/2008 Graduate Fellows

2006/2007 Graduate Fellows

Reynolds School of Journalism Faculty

Larry Dailey
Howard Goldbaum
Ed Lenert
Donica Mensing
David Ryfe

News about our work on OurTahoe.org:
Journalism project hopes to gather landowners, TRPA
Tahoe Bonanza, Feb. 17, 2008

TahoeNotebook promised a long life
Tahoe Daily Tribune, April 17, 2007

Project urges community involvement through journalism
Reno Gazette Journal, April 15, 2007

Protecting Lake Tahoe
Reno Gazette Journal, April 15, 2007

What should be done to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire at Lake Tahoe?
Reno Gazette Journal, April 15, 2007

Help Make the News
The Tahoe Daily Tribune, March 23, 2007

Newspaper pioneer behind Web concept
The Tahoe Daily Tribune, March 23, 2007

Debate continues over changes to Heavenly Master Plan
Channel 4 KRNV, March 15, 2007

Related posts: [ BMP community conversation to begin soon ] [ It’s all about you ] [ Back to square one: TRPA to reconsider Heavenly Master Plan ] [ Hello and Welcome ] [ Get to know us–read our blogs ]