Sponsorships

Filling the Void in Investigative Journalism…
Bacon’s Rebellion Reporting Sponsorships

Investigative reporting, R.I.P. In-depth reporting is dead. If not dead, it’s comatose. Reeling from declining revenue and eroding profit margins, print media enterprises continue to lay off staff and shrink column inches.

New entities are filling the void but they all have agendas. Think tanks engage university professors to write research papers and pump out political commentary. Corporations and advocacy groups churn out press releases and newsletters. Bloggers filter and comment upon the flood of raw material. But hardly anyone is left to do the old-fashioned digging, sifting and reporting that explains to the public how the world really works.

Bottom line: The public is inundated with information but many of the most important stories are going unreported.

Sponsor an article. Bacon’s Rebellion and its companion blog, The Wonk Salon, cover public policy issues, not politics. Our contributors represent viewpoints across the ideological spectrum. With a mission of building more prosperous, livable and sustainable communities — not advancing a partisan agenda — we occupy a unique position in the Virginia blogosphere.

We work with trade associations and advocacy groups of all persuasions to research and write about subjects that will inform the public debate in Virginia. If traditional media are unable or unwilling to address the topics that you think should be part of the public discourse, you need to talk to us.

How it works. We hold an initial meeting to discuss the issues that animate you and brainstorm story lines that meet two criteria: (1) you would like to see them developed, and (2) we would like to pursue them. We will follow the story where it takes us. We will not tailor stories to fit preconceived notions – we will not sacrifice credibility with our readers. If you want to control the final outcome, we will label it advertising. If you aren’t happy with that, hire a P.R. firm to write a position paper.

However, Bacon’s Rebellion will maintain full editorial control over any articles it publishes as editorial content and will go where the research leads, not to a preordained conclusion. Maintaining editorial integrity is not only critical to BR’s business plan but to ensure that the sponsor’s article is viewed as a credible piece of journalism.

If the sponsor needs to maintain a measure of review or control over the final editorial product, the article will be tagged as “sponsored content.”

Once we deliver a polished product, we will publish the story on Bacon’s Rebellion, which you can supplement by distributing it through your own channels of communication. For added impact, we can arrange to promote the story on a network of Virginia blogs and e-newsletters on a cost-plus basis.

Transparency. Bacon’s Rebellion expects to work with a wide assortment of sponsors on a range of topics. When editorial content is underwritten by a sponsor, it is our policy to provide full disclosure to readers about who we are collaborating with.

Special projects. Bacon’s Rebellion will work with sponsoring organizations to create a package of articles on a particular topic. We will publish the articles in a free-standing website, thus guaranteeing a year-long shelf life, highlight them on the Bacon’s Rebellion website and advertise the package on our digital network.

In return, the sponsoring organization agrees to promote the project, asking members and/or constituents to support the initiative by means of online advertising. We will arrange to display sponsors’ ads and/or editorial content prominently to ensure maximum visibility for them. If the sponsor is committed to the success of the project, Bacon’s Rebellion will assume the financial risk of publishing the special report.