WHYY, the Philadelphia Daily News and The Committee of Seventy Launch 'THE NEXT MAYOR' Project

WHYY, the Philadelphia Daily News and The Committee of Seventy Launch 'THE NEXT MAYOR' Project

Project will help local residents understand and participate in the 2007 mayoral campaign; TheNextMayor.com launched today

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- WHYY and the Philadelphia Daily News are joining forces today to cover the search for Philadelphia's next CEO.

The two media forces have launched THE NEXT MAYOR, an innovative, two-year, multimedia partnership. In print, on the radio, on television, on the Internet and in the community, the two news operations will focus on the issues - not just the personalities - leading to the 2007 mayor's race. These two award-winning news agencies are joined in this groundbreaking initiative by The Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia's better government advocacy group.

The project begins today with the launch of TheNextMayor.com (http://www.thenextmayor.com/), a Web site offering in-depth coverage, history and perspective on the regional issues that will fuel the mayoral campaign. Over the next two years, the project will expand to include university research and polling, as well as special reports in the Daily News and on WHYY's radio and television stations. WHYY will also create exclusive content for other digital platforms, including WHYY digital TV, podcasts and Comcast's ON DEMAND.

WHYY and the Daily News will pull from past and present research conducted by The Committee of Seventy, and turn it into informational stories that will help contribute to the knowledge of voters.

WHYY President and CEO William J. Marrazzo, Daily News Editor Michael Days and Committee of Seventy CEO Zachary Stalberg believe THE NEXT MAYOR takes an innovative approach to election coverage. The focus of the project is on the issues that face Philadelphia and the region. To get at the issues, the project will ask voters to identify the issues they want the next mayor to tackle.

"Voter input defines THE NEXT MAYOR project because the views of real people across our region will help define the stories our journalists report," said WHYY's Marrazzo.

The project is funded in part by a $330,000 grant from the William Penn Foundation.

Elements of THE NEXT MAYOR project will be available at http://www.thenextmayor.com/; on WHYY-FM's Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane (also available via podcast at http://www.whyy.org/); in special reports on 91FM's Morning Edition and All Things Considered; and on TV12's Delaware Tonight. In addition, WHYY's Digital Channel will feature coverage of NEXT MAYOR events held across the region. All WHYY TV12 and digital content can be viewed at the "Get Local" section of Comcast's ON DEMAND.

This partnership brings together the resources of two media forces in Philadelphia: the trusted reporting and analysis of public broadcasting station WHYY, and the "People Paper," the Philadelphia Daily News, known for informed reporting on city politics and for "Rethinking Philadelphia": journalism that advocates progress on key city issues.

The Committee of Seventy's historical database of political research and knowledge will help citizens better understand the progression of Philadelphia politics over the years with hopes of pinpointing what the city is doing right and what it needs to fix. WHYY and the Daily News will also turn to Temple University students for original stories about regional issues produced by the next generation of video journalists in Temple's School of Communications and Theatre.

"We are proud to partner with the Daily News and The Committee of Seventy," said Paul Gluck, WHYY Vice President and Station Manager. "The project has regional ramifications and its goal is to help residents understand and engage in the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral campaign. Philadelphia's next mayor will make decisions that have significant social, economic and political impact on over six million people who live in the Delaware Valley's 11 counties, including five counties surrounding Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey and Delaware."

"The scope of this project is enormous," Gluck said. "It uses traditional as well as non-traditional avenues to connect people and their ideas to each other - ideas that will make the region a better place to live and work through the creation of a truly public agenda."

"The Daily News believes in Philadelphia and believes in giving all of its citizens the information they need to choose the next mayor," said Michael Days, editor of the Daily News. "We are proud to be able to spread that information across our city through a one-of-a-kind media partnership with WHYY. And we are committed to raising the voices of the citizens of our city as they tell the candidates which issues matter most to them."

"We are excited to be working with WHYY and the Daily News to determine what issues are of high importance and how we, as citizens of this city, can work together to make Philadelphia the best possible place to live, work and play," said Zack Stalberg, President and CEO of The Committee of Seventy.

The Daily News is the best-read newspaper in the city of Philadelphia. THE NEXT MAYOR is part of the Daily News' Rethinking Philadelphia initiative.

THE NEXT MAYOR is part of WHYY's News and Public Affairs Service, which develops quality news and public affairs programs that explore, in personal and human terms, the events, ideas and people who influence, impact and enrich life in the region. WHYY is what a diverse community has in common. Through television, radio and other communications services, WHYY makes our region a better place, connecting each of us to the world's richest ideas and all of us to each other.

The Committee of Seventy is committed to providing citizens with independent, non-partisan information on issues concerning Philadelphia citizens. The Committee also believes that government should work to address the needs, wants and concerns of the people it serves.

The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that foster rich cultural expression, strengthen children's futures, and deepen connections to nature and community. In partnership with others, the Foundation works to advance a vital, just and caring community. Learn more about the Foundation at http://www.williampennfoundation.org/.

Source: WHYY; Philadelphia Daily News; The Committee of Seventy

CONTACT: Daneil Mazone of WHYY, +1-215-351-3316; or Wendy Warren of the
Philadelphia Daily News, +1-215-854-5398; or Fatima Nelson of The Committee of
Seventy, +1-215-557-3600 X101

Web site: http://www.whyy.org/

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