Change the List

Help us bring change to places and issues that need it most. This journalism experiment is led by CNN columnist John D. Sutter. input[type='submit'].minimal, button.minimal { background: #e3e3e3 !important; border: 1px solid #bbb !important; -moz-border-radius: 3px !important; -webkit-border-radius: 3px !important; border-radius: 3px !important; -moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #f6f6f6 !important; -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #f6f6f6 !important; box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #f6f6f6 !important; color: #333 !important; font-family: "helvetica neue", helvetica, arial, sans-serif !important; font-size: 12px !important; font-weight: bold !important; line-height: 1 !important; padding: 8px 0 9px !important; text-align: center !important; text-shadow: 0 1px 0 #fff !important; width: 150px !important; } input[type='submit'].minimal:hover, button.minimal:hover { background: #d9d9d9 !important; -moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #eaeaea !important; -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #eaeaea !important; box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #eaeaea !important; color: #222 !important; cursor: pointer !important; } input[type='submit'].minimal:active, button.minimal:active { background: #d0d0d0 !important; -moz-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #e3e3e3 !important; -webkit-box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #e3e3e3 !important; box-shadow: inset 0 0 1px 1px #e3e3e3 !important; color: #000 !important; } Join our Mailing List Email Address Close var fancyboxLoaded; try { var jqueryLoaded=jQuery; jqueryLoaded=true; //Check if a fancybox plugin is already loaded try{ fancyboxLoaded = $.fancybox } catch(err) { fancyboxLoaded=false; } } catch(err) { jqueryLoaded=false; } var head= document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0]; var script= document.createElement('script'); if (!jqueryLoaded) { script.type= 'text/javascript'; script.src= 'http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/libs/jquery/1.4.4/jquery.min.js'; head.appendChild(script); } if (!fancyboxLoaded) { //Only load the CSS because the asynchronous JS might not load the script in time... //We'll load the script later with jQuery :) var fancystyle= document.createElement('link'); fancystyle.setAttribute("rel", "stylesheet"); fancystyle.setAttribute("type", "text/css"); //TODO: Hey MC guys, you've gotta host this somewhere! 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130 posts

[cnnchangethelist]

Back in October of 2012, the people at CNN took it upon themselves to remedy the problem of low voter turnout by launching their "Change The List" campaign. The initiative noted the fact that the state of Hawaii had the lowest voter turnout during the 2008 election and set out to fix it. CNN asked people to tweet encouragements at Hawaiian voters, do stuff with Instagram and leave comments on YouTube, all in an effort to 'convince' random people in Hawaii to go vote. Today, Hawaii proudly stands in 49th place in voter turnout. When CNN launched its campaign, West Virginia was 49th, so it makes sense that moving Hawaii out of that spot would, in all likelihood, drop the Mountain State into last place.

Jason Linkins, HuffPo

[cnnchangethelist]

#CTLCNN: The results are in!

This is journalism as democracy. You voted. And I'll cover your top five picks as part of the CNN Change the List project. 

Drum roll please .. And the winners are ...

1. America's widening rich-poor gap (16,789 votes)

2. Illegal animal trade (13,276 votes)

3. Where rape is most common (12,996)

4. The world's poorest children (12,820)

5. America's most endangered river (12,002)

See the full list on CNN.com. Thanks to all who voted! 

More than 32K votes in all. So cool.

[cnnchangethelist]

#CTLCNN leaders: Friday

Today's #CTLCNN leaders: 1. rich-poor gap 2. rape 3. poor kids 4. animal trade 5. conflict. +27K votes. Do that here: http://t.co/BwE5FnyInH

— John D. Sutter (@jdsutter) June 14, 2013

[cnnchangethelist]

“America’s widening gap between the rich and poor — and this country’s fast-disappearing sense of security and progress and economic stability — is so far the top pick among the 20 subjects I presented as part of a new project called Change the List.”

"Who cares about the economy?" - John Sutter/ CNN

[cnnchangethelist]

Who cares about the economy? You

John Sutter asked CNN's readers and viewers to pick the five social-justice topics he'll cover for the rest of the year; there's still time to vote here: CNN.com/Change

[cnnchangethelist]

#CTLCNN leaders: Thursday

Voting continues until Monday at http://cnn.com/changethelist. You pick it, CNN will cover it. Help us Change the List. Thanks!

[cnnchangethelist]

[cnnchangethelist]

You pick it, CNN will cover it

VOTE on CNN Change the List topics here. We've put forward 20 options. Will report on the top five you choose. 

Here's what some people/orgs are saying on Twitter:

Moms? Malaria? Show your influence: @CNN's new challenge invites us to decide the most important issues to cover: http://t.co/LLvlw3At9e

— Melinda Gates (@melindagates)

June 12, 2013

Be a @CNN assignment editor at http://t.co/HtKeN06fWy! Vote for #polio eradication until 17 June. #CTLCNN #endpolio #socialgood #health

— Rotary International (@rotary)

June 11, 2013

Vote for the 'No Toilets' story & send @Jdsutter to a country where @CARE is fighting poverty! Vote now! #CTLCNN http://t.co/GvRMOauUCH

— CAREUSA (care.org) (@CARE)

June 12, 2013

A child dies from malaria every minute but we can beat it. Vote for @jdsutter to report on malaria on @CNN: http://t.co/5rqnROHODl #CTLCNN

— Malaria No More UK (@malarianomoreuk)

June 12, 2013

All 20 topics of the Change The List project are worthy of coverage. Where would you send @jdsutter? http://t.co/DEUEqPIdme #CTLCNN

— newsjunkie365 (@newsjunkie365)

June 11, 2013

Have you voted yet? All important issues, but vote illegal wildlife trade http://t.co/c5SV1wcepp CNN's #ChangetheList via @jdsutter

— WWF News (@WWFnews)

June 12, 2013

Do it >>MT @jdsutter Here's a crazy/awesome/scary thing you can do today: VOTE on the stories I'll cover this year. http://t.co/lYYVq6nIL3

— Carine Umuhumuza (@CarineUmu)

June 11, 2013

[cnnchangethelist]

Most of the twenty stories that Mr. Sutter proposed are the kinds of unsexy public interest journalism more likely found on PBS than CNN: places in the U.S. where no one has has Internet or toilet paper, countries wracked by polio and leprosy, the effects of extreme poverty on children. Mr. Sutter hopes that the audience’s engagement with the story—they chose it, after all—will lead people to get involved and work for change.

New York Observer on Change the List

[cnnchangethelist]

#CNNCTL leaderboard for Tuesday. Vote through Sunday at CNN.com/changethelist

[cnnchangethelist]

How CNN Change the List voting works - answering some questions

Some questions about how #CTLCNN voting works: You can vote once per day. Multiple votes w/in a day won't register: cnn.com/change

— John D. Sutter (@jdsutter) June 11, 2013

2/2 And voting will close at 11:59pm ET on Sunday. #CTLCNN

— John D. Sutter (@jdsutter) June 11, 2013

[cnnchangethelist]

You pick it, CNN covers it (Vine edition...)

[cnnchangethelist]

17,768

That's how many votes CNN's Change the List tallied as of 7:20 a.m. Voting continues through Sunday, and you can vote once per day. Pick your top five from this list of 20 stories -- the country where malaria is deadliest; the place where leprosy is still a scourge; the state with the highest dropout rate; the most dangerous roads on Earth -- and CNN columnist John D. Sutter will report on the five winners. 

Help us spread the word - and thanks!

VOTE HERE: http://cnn.com/changethelist

[cnnchangethelist]

Journalism as democracy

Vote on the issues CNN columnist John D. Sutter will cover this year as part of his Change the List project. Pick five from this list of 20. He'll start reporting on the five winners after voting closes Sunday night.

Don't like the topics presented? Send a tweet to @jdsutter or an e-mail to ctl[at]cnn[dot]com and we'll add it to the list of write-in candidates. CNN editors will choose the sixth Change the List topic, and that story could come from your ideas. Check out the spreadsheet with write-in topics here. 

[cnnchangethelist]

[cnnchangethelist]

I'm getting some interesting write-in topics for the #CTLCNN vote. Compiling them in a spreadsheet: docs.google.com/spreadsheet/cc…

— John D. Sutter (@jdsutter) June 10, 2013

[cnnchangethelist]

You pick it, CNN will cover it

Pick your top five from this list and VOTE HERE! I'll cover the winning five as part of CNN's Change the List project. Voting closes next Monday.

Here are the topics to choose from: 

No toilets: In one country, 90% don't have basic sanitation.

Rivers: Some U.S. rivers are dry or overrun with pollution. 

Malaria: The country with the highest death rate. 

Free speech: One nation ranks BELOW North Korea.

Happiness: The saddest rich country could use cheering up.

Internet: Some U.S. towns have little to no access.

Rape: Some communities suffer disproportionately. 

Dropouts: One state has a 60% graduation rate. 

Extreme poverty: Children are hit hardest. 

Moms: In one country, 1 in 100 births kills mom.

Roads: They kill 1.3M/year. Smarter laws could help.

Polio: Three countries stand in the way of eradication. 

Women: Five countries have no women in the legislature. 

Animals: Illegal trades empty ecosystems and line pockets.

Leprosy: +200K cases are detected each year. Still.

Conflict: The deadliest wars aren't always in the news.

Prison: Which U.S. state is most likely to lock you up?

Land mines: They still kill thousands per year.

Inequality: One U.S. state is the most unequal of all.

Drugs: U.S. demand fuels cartel violence. 

After we have the winners, we'll work together to push for change in places that need it most. Each story focuses on the extreme case -- and the goal is to start a conversation that, over time, could bump these places off the bottom of the list. Thanks for your vote and support! --John