Tennessee Charter Schools Association Becomes First Media Bullpen Partner
CER Press Release
Washington, D.C.
March 27, 2013
We are pleased to announce a new initiative of the Center for Education Reform (CER), providing the creation of a state-based Media Bullpen for the organizations who fully embrace the idea that engaging the media can advance education reform. The Tennessee Charter Schools Association (TCSA), the leading charter school advocacy organization in the Volunteer state, will be our first, anchor partner for this exciting initiative. TCSA, founded in 1998, serves quality public charter schools by educating communities, empowering supporters, and promoting legislation to create an educational landscape of excellent options for all students.
“Great things are happening in Tennessee’s schools,” said Matt Throckmorton, executive director of the Tennessee Charter Schools Association. “The Media Bullpen can help to ensure that our state is not only a leader in education reform, but also the way education is discussed in the news media, and subsequently among citizens.”
The Media Bullpen, created in 2011 by the Center, is a 24/7 virtual newsroom and is the largest aggregator of education news in the country. Each day, the Bullpen’s unique technology downloads all the education reform related media from throughout the nation. Bullpen editors monitor the dozens of stories and commentaries on education that appear day-in and day-out across the country and analyze them for accuracy, fairness, objectivity, context, and use of credible data – separating fact from fiction and opinion from analysis. They also identify omissions or other gaps in reporting.
In 2012, the Bullpen was enhanced to provide public commenting and a feature for subscribers to contact the reporters directly. Today, state partners now have access to nearly 1,000 news pieces a day fed through our unique, specialized news feed.
“We are thrilled with this partnership. The Tennessee Charter Schools Association understands that media influences policy and they are bold advocates for the state,” said CER Vice President Kara Kerwin.
The State Media Bullpen will permit organizations to provide real-time summaries of news pieces to their staffs, members and public. “TCSA’s purpose is to be a resource for anyone involved, or simply interested, in charter schools and other education reform efforts across Tennessee,” says TCSA Communications Director, Emily Lilley. “We are thrilled that the Media Bullpen offers an opportunity to enrich the level of information we offer to those we serve.”
To view the Media Bullpen widget for Tennessee, please visit the Tennessee Charter Schools Association.
