FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Aileen Kain
Committee of Seventy
(267) 861-6041 (office)
(610) 331-4107 (cell)
akain@seventy.org
COMMITTEE OF SEVENTY LAUNCHES PODCAST HOSTED BY CHRIS SATULLO
Titled 20 by Seventy, the monthly digital product will advance Seventy’s mission
to make Philadelphia a more efficient, effective, and ethical city
PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 2, 2016) – Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia’s independent, nonpartisan advocate for better government, today launched a new Podcast, 20 by Seventy, hosted by Chris Satullo, former Editorial Page Editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Executive Director of News and Civic Engagement at WHYY, to provide a platform for analysis of Philadelphia’s government and politics and what citizens can do to improve the way things work. The podcast, named for its twenty-minute length (optimal for casual consumption), is available for download online.
A fast-paced mix of reporting, interviews and commentary, 20 by Seventy enables Committee of Seventy to leverage digital platforms to drive home its message of reform, particularly to reach Philadelphia’s growing cohort of engaged millennials. The initial podcast focuses on Seventy’s recent campaign to eliminate the elected office of the City Commissioners in response to dysfunction and lack of leadership under Anthony Clark, with additional analysis of the recent Mayoral transition and Seventy’s reform priorities. Future episodes will feature regular segments from CEO David Thornburgh and a wide network of experts in urban affairs and innovation in government, and will showcase contributions from the city’s top journalists and its most innovative civic leaders.
Satullo, a former public radio executive who turned WHYY into Pennsylvania’s top broadcast news outlet and winner of a host of national awards, has worked with Seventy as a civic engagement consultant since October, 2015. Satullo is joined by producer Elizabeth Fiedler, an award-winning public radio journalist, giving the podcast a powerful journalistic and story-telling foundation.
The podcast complements other recent innovative initiatives by Seventy to expand the number of Philadelphians engaged in the political process, including its partnership with Silicon Valley-backed Crowdpac in its groundbreaking ballot-creation tool and its innovative Election Ambassadors program which recruits high school students to provide nonpartisan election information and conduct surveys at polling places on Election Day. Thornburgh said, “Adding the firepower of two highly respected journalists to Seventy’s better government initiatives via digital media is a powerful way to encourage a whole new generation to expect more from our political process and from government.”
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The nonpartisan Committee of Seventy is an independent nonprofit advocate for better politics and better government in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. For more information, see www.seventy.org.