Beyond the Beltway

As I have no experience in a previous marriage, I’d say it’s all hope over experience.

At its core, the The Washington Independent will be informed by the states we’re in: Michigan, Colorado, Iowa, Minnesota. The states in our network provide us with a unique editorial perspective: an understanding of how decisions in Washington are playing out in local communities that have enormous influence over the future direction of America. Our reporters in Washington will be asking themselves, at every turn, how is this issue or that candidate faring in the states we cover most closely. When we cover how Congress is dealing with global warming we will frame that discussion in how fuel economy legislation affects the auto industry and its employees in Michigan. As presidential candidates talk about immigration, we will look at how those proposals are received in Colorado with its large Hispanic population. And so on.

Our network provides a key advantage for us. At a time when the sources of news– especially local news– are shrinking dramatically (see Gannett and Tribune Co.’s layoffs), and the national news media undergoes more and more consolidation (see News Corp and The Wall Street Journal), more than ever it’s imperative that there be a diverse news media. Our democracy requires it. The Independent News Network, with The Washington Independent as its hub, is uniquely capable of working to fill the need for serious news about the great issues of our time, and their day to day effects on the communities where we live.

So, back to your question, The Washington Independent is technically "in the beltway" but driven by the politics of reality outside the beltway– otherwise known as America. The interplay of the two, both from DC to the states, and vice versa, will be at the core what makes us different from what has existed before, and what exists today. For every reporter in Washington, we’ll have four in the states. And as we open more states, that ratio will only increase.