Digital First Media to Collaborate With The Guardian U.S., New York University on Citizens Agenda Project

Thursday, December 8, 2011

NEW YORK – Digital First Media, the nation’s second-largest newspaper group, announced today that it will partner with The Guardian U.S. and New York University’s Studio 20 program on a citizen engagement project for the 2012 elections.

The project, which NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen and The Guardian’s Open Editor Amanda Michel explain in detail at PressThink, will bring the voice of citizens into the coverage of the 2012 elections by determining which issues are most important to them. The Guardian U.S. will build a citizens agenda at a national level, while Digital First Media — which jointly manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company — will apply the concept to local races in the 18 states it operates news organizations.

“While coverage of the overall election — from the horse race to the conventions to the political theater — will remain part of our coverage, we agree with the idea that citizens should have a larger role in determining the issues that are discussed and covered,” said Jim Brady, Editor-in-Chief of Digital First Media. “Taking this community-driven approach to elections fits right into our overall philosophy of combining traditional journalism values with new, bold experiments.”

The citizens agenda project will be created largely by students participating in NYU’s Studio 20 program, working with editors and producers in The Guardian’s U.S. office. The first features of the citizens agenda project are expected to launch in late January 2012.

About Digital First Media
Digital First Media is headquartered in New York City and jointly manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company. Digital First Media reaches 57 million Americans each month through more than 800 multi-platform products across 18 states.

For More Information:
Jonathan Cooper
Vice President
Digital First Media
jcooper@digitalfirstmedia.com
215-867-2022