A new news agency has arrived in Virginia that promises to break the perceived stranglehold of the major media companies…and fill in the coverage gaps for newspapers and radio stations.
It’s called the “Public News Service,” and it already has quite a national footprint:
On a day-to-day basis we link with hundreds of grassroots organizations who keep us informed on a cross-cutting range of social justice, environmental and economic issues. Currently, tens of thousands of media outlets receive our content and more than 8,000 nationally are regularly using our stories, reaching a combined national weekly audience of 24 million.
Media outlets across the map use Public News Service stories-from conservative news/talk to public, community, ethnic and religious outlets, on air, in print and on their online sites.
Did you catch the line about “conservative news/talk” stations using this service? That should raise a few eyebrows, considering how PNS has positioned itself in Virginia.
An alert reader sent me a copy of a recent PNS-Virginia fundraising email. It makes a pitch for additional funds that will be used to hire a producer who can create stories for radio stations. But before that pitch is made, we get this bit of thank you copy:
We celebrate the pioneering vision and leadership of our founding groups: Children’s Defense Fund-VA, Legal Aid Justice Center, Oxfam America-VA, Sierra Club-VA, Virginia AFL-CIO, Virginia Association of Personal Care Assistants (SEIU), Virginia Community Action Partnership, Virginia Community Healthcare Association, Virginia Education Association, Virginia Interfaith Center, Virginia Organizing Project, Virginia Poverty Law Center, Virginia Sexual & Domestic Violence Action Alliance, Virginians for a Healthy Future.
Labor groups, environmentalists, the earnest progressives at Virginia Organizing…not a conservative group in sight.
The Virginia branch will be up and running soon. But they hope to get more up-front backers…who can help shape what kind of stories are covered:
We know many, many more groups are working through their decision process, and it’s not too late for your organization to be a founder and widen the coverage of your issues. We will send the notice to Broadcasters the week after the July 4th holiday, and will send out the first story on Monday, July 17th.
Until then, folks are asked to put their thinking caps on and create a list of media types who might be interested in getting the PNS spin on the news:
Our best referrals come from our supporters, so please send along the names of your favorite broadcast journalists and we will follow up.
Something to watch for in the weeks ahead.
Meanwhile, conservative media in Virginia has the support of groups like…like…Hmmm.
