The New York Times, In Collaboration with WNYC Radio, Launches SchoolBook, an Interactive Education Site
NEW YORK TIMES, IN COLLABORATION WITH WNYC RADIO, LAUNCHES SCHOOLBOOK, AN INTERACTIVE EDUCATION SITE
SchoolBook to Provide a Comprehensive Resource and Online Forum for Parents, Teachers, Administrators and Experts
NEW YORK, August 22, 2011 – The New York Times, in collaboration with WNYC, the nation’s most listened-to public radio station, will launch SchoolBook, a Web site of news, data and conversation about schools in New York City on September 7. The site, at nytimes.com/schoolbook and schoolbook.org, will feature a customized destination page for each of the 1,700 New York City public schools and 800 private schools, as well as a home page with fresh content daily. SchoolBook will include coverage by New York Times and WNYC reporters; user-friendly, interactive tools to help parents and others analyze schools; and platforms for community journalism and discussion. The site will expand on the searchable test-score database already available on NYTimes.com, http://projects.nytimes.com/new-york-schools-test-scores, harnessing information on staffing, programs and facilities, among other things, to provide the fullest possible picture of a school’s performance and environment. Individual school pages will also include responses from hundreds of principals to a SchoolBook survey being conducted this summer.
Access to SchoolBook will be free and exempt from The Times’s digital subscriptions. To participate in the conversation, users will register via Facebook. These users will then be able to share documents, photos and video; pose and respond to questions about a particular school or issue; propose ideas about their school; discuss issues with editors and experts; and more.
“SchoolBook is a tool for New Yorkers to learn about the things that matter most to them,” said Jodi Rudoren, education editor of The New York Times. “This city is built on school choice and we are pleased to offer what we hope will become an essential resource to everyone interested in public education.”
"The vast school system in New York has been a challenge for both parents and educators to navigate," said John Keefe, Senior Executive Producer of News at WNYC. "SchoolBook will build on our existing reach into diverse communities and expertise in cultivating local sources within them. We hope that the combination of information and interactive tools will assist parents and teachers and spark meaningful conversation about the school experience.”
Within The Times, SchoolBook is a shared project of the education desk, the interactive news group and the computer assisted reporting team. It represents the paper’s latest experiments in online tools, community building and hyperlocal journalism. The site’s editor, Mary Ann Giordano, is a veteran New York reporter and editor who also oversees The Local, The Times’s community news sites in Fort Greene-Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, and in Manhattan’s East Village.
Within WNYC, senior reporter Beth Fertig, who has examined the city’s public school system for more than 15 years, will be a primary contributor. SchoolBook also will have regular segments on The Brian Lehrer Show, and the station will host several community events throughout the year. WNYC will give SchoolBook access to the Public Insight Network, a public radio initiative that gives local newsrooms a direct link to people in their community and develops insights from people's lives, work and personal experiences.
The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading media company with 2010 revenues of $2.4 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, 15 other daily newspapers and more than 50 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information and entertainment.
New York Public Radio
New York Public Radio is New York's premier public radio franchise, comprising WNYC, WQXR, and The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, as well as www.wnyc.org, www.wqxr.org and www.thegreenespace.org. As America's most listened-to AM/FM news and talk public radio stations, reaching 1.1 million listeners every week, WNYC extends New York City's cultural riches to the entire country on-air and online, and presents the best national offerings from networks National Public Radio, Public Radio International, American Public Media, and the British Broadcasting Company. WNYC 93.9 FM broadcasts a wide range of daily news, talk, cultural and music programming, while WNYC AM 820 maintains a stronger focus on breaking news and international news reporting. Classical 105.9 WQXR is New York City's sole 24-hour classical music station, presenting new and landmark classical recordings as well as live concerts from the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, among other New York City venues, immersing listeners in the city's rich musical life. In addition to its audio content, WNYC and WQXR produce content for live, radio and web audiences from The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, the station's street-level multipurpose, multiplatform broadcast studio and performance space. For more information about New York Public Radio, visit www.nypublicradio.org.
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Contacts: Danielle Rhoades Ha, danielle.rhoades-ha@nytimes.com
Stephanie Yera, stephanie.yera@nytimes.com
Jennifer Houlihan, jhoulihan@nypublicradio.org
