About the Media Bullpen
America’s future, its short and long term viability, is wholly dependent on how we educate our children.
The Media Bullpen is a dynamic, virtual newsroom that covers the news and the news of education. It’s a sophisticated and unique technological environment that allows everyone to get in the game on the greatest discussions of our day. To understand those discussions, we need great information and reporting on all the issues relating to education—all the time.
Each day nearly 500 stories—and sometimes many more—are produced in the media about education, but they often lack the context for the public to get engaged. The Bullpen empowers the public to put in context what they see and hear. The problem is not that education is under-reported; the larger issue is that all too often, it is misreported. Balance, context, sound data, and an institutional knowledge of the many issues are often missing.
The entire Bullpen team brings diverse ideological and work experience to the effort. The Bullpen reporters—the umpires—react and respond in real time to the press as it rolls out its coverage in print, online or broadcast, at the local, state or national levels. They score the coverage using the metaphors of that favorite American pastime, baseball. Articles are given strike outs, pop flies, singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, reflecting a particular story’s objectivity, proper context, its exploration of data, and search for accuracy. Not only are the stories scored, but readers will also see ‘batting averages’ on the news outlets over time.
In so doing, the Media Bullpen provides a critical eye to help the public better understand the complexity of the issues being reported.
More than anything else, the Bullpen allows readers to be their own umpires. A full suite of social media applications allows readers to get engaged by sharing the Bullpen’s content with friends, family, other media outlets, activists, and school leaders. Readers can help to make education great only by demanding greater education reporting. Got a news scoop? Let us know: Assignmentdesk@mediabullpen.com
The Media Bullpen is an entirely separate, editorially independent division of the Center for Education Reform, and the strategic evolution of its pioneering and well-known media relations and news monitoring work. Since 1993, CER has not only amassed a credible portfolio of more than 1 billion media impressions over its tenure, but is widely recognized as a leading organization in the forefront of improving American education.
Known for creating opportunities to empower and energize ordinary citizens and engage and educate those who manage education, legislate it, and write about it, CER’s programs and award winning web site (www.edreform.com) together has had seven million patrons each year who use the organization’s data annually. CER influenced the content of 250,000 “Breaking News Stories” since its inception, from the relationships built among the 4,800 media writers, reporters, editors and producers who annually connect with CER. Supported by a very diverse array of citizens, 1,871 donors have invested $26 million in the organization since its founding.
The Mission of the Media Bullpen
We stand for any reform which alters the status quo for the better, and for improving the dialogue which will allow everyone to see and hear the many diverse viewpoints of education issues and why they are important.
We stand for improvements no matter how small, in every school, every district, and every state of the nation. This is still a nation at risk, or one on life support. We believe it must be changed and cannot afford to sit on the sidelines any longer. We cannot afford more of the same.
We stand for clearer and more comprehensive reporting on reform and the people who are championing those many improvements. We also expect the bright light to fall on those people and groups that might stand in the way, no matter what side of the issues they are on, what party they belong to, or what convictions they may hold.
We stand against overly simplistic depictions of difficult and complex issues and of reporters who default to reporting only one side of an issue. We stand against simplistic media characterizations of those engaged in the debate, no matter what side they take and no matter which positions they represent.
Education deserves and demands far better coverage. We call the plays as we see them and we ask all Americans to do the same.
Welcome to The Media Bullpen.
Because education is no longer a spectator sport.
