EMERYVILLE, Calif., Jan. 22, 2015 – Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and Alley Interactive have partnered to launch RevealNews.org, the new home for Reveal’s investigative content and for the nation’s first investigative public radio show and podcast. The teams collaborated to create a powerful platform for Reveal’s storytelling and ensure the show’s in-depth reporting will reach and engage audiences across the Web.

CIR selected Alley Interactive, a full-service agency with specialties in technical strategy, user experience and digital product development for news media. The agency has built and launched sites for some of the largest news outlets in the past year and has strong expertise in solving technological challenges for diverse editorial teams.

With the launch of this new site, CIR, one of the first investigative reporting organizations in the nation, moves into a new chapter with its radio show, long-form investigations, data apps, videos, engagement and more all under this new umbrella. Reveal will publish investigative content from its reporters and those of news organizations around the country and the world.

The launch of Reveal as CIR’s new home also provides a better user experience for CIR’s Web team and visitors to the site. It features a custom audio player that integrates with CIR’s account on SoundCloud. Alley brought to life what CIR had envisioned, all while leveraging SoundCloud as the distribution channel. On the back end, Alley kept the editorial workflow light and flexible, using WordPress’ user interface to make it easier for CIR’s editors, reporters and producers to use the site. Over the next few months, Alley Interactive will tightly integrate WordPress with CIR’s data-heavy reporting and interactive news features to enhance CIR’s storytelling abilities.

Features:

Audio player: The player stays with listeners as they move through the site, letting them browse past and current investigative pieces while listening to the radio show.

Future publishing: The new back-end functionality allows CIR to future-publish individual posts – and even the entire home page – saving the Web team long nights and early waking times.

Flexible home page: The home page design is modular and flexible – it can be rearranged on the back end and set to publish in a new configuration, highlighting different types of reports.

Updated organization: The new site is built around investigation topics and radio  episodes, making it easier for visitors to quickly find information relevant to their interests.

“The launch of Reveal’s new website was essential in giving us a platform for our engaging and dynamic content,” said Meghann Farnsworth, director of distribution and engagement at CIR. “Alley came to the table with a strong appreciation of the investigative work we produce and worked with our Web producers and designers on implementing and refining our vision for a new home for our content.”

“CIR’s commitment to innovation in journalism makes them an ideal partner for us,” said Josh Kadis, director of product development at Alley Interactive. “Together, we’re able to experiment with new concepts that will hopefully become standard practice as digital and news media evolves.”

About Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting

Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting is the new platform featuring CIR’s award-winning content. CIR is the nation’s first independent, multiplatform investigative reporting organization. Devoted to holding powerful interests accountable to the public trust, CIR creatively employs cutting-edge technology and innovative storytelling to reveal injustice, spark change at all levels of society and influence public dialogue on critical issues. CIR produces high-impact reporting across print, video, TV, radio and online platforms and is the recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, winner of a 2013 Emmy Award and a 2013 George Foster Peabody Award, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2012 (for local reporting) and 2013 (for public service). For more, visit revealnews.org. Find and follow Reveal on Twitter and Facebook.

About Alley Interactive

Alley Interactive is a digital agency that designs and builds large-scale content sites for top digital publishers, including leaders in news media, entertainment, nonprofits and higher education. The firm offers strategy, design and development services across the entire digital product development lifecycle. Headquartered in New York, Alley Interactive has worked with news media brands including The New Republic, the New York Post, Digiday, European Voice, Sportsnet, Fortune and Time and nonprofits such as The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Alley was the only digital agency honored in the news category of the 2014 Webby Awards for work on The New Republic. More information is available at alleyinteractive.com or on Twitter.

Contact:

Meghann Farnsworth, director of distribution and engagement
mfarnsworth@cironline.org
510-809-2213
Amanda Shareghi, director of marketing and business development
amanda@alleyinteractive.com
212-804-6623

 

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Meghann Farnsworth is the managing director of distribution, operations and engagement for Reveal and The Center for Investigative Reporting. She manages teams dedicated to website production and management, technology, analytics, social media, distribution, newsletters, online and on-the-ground community building, arts collaborations, and youth engagement. She also helps develop and support media partnerships and collaborations for Reveal’s national public radio show and podcast. Previously, Farnsworth was the senior digital media manager at Home Front Communications in Washington, D.C., where she worked in digital media management, interactive development and outreach for nonprofit and government clients. She also served as the associate editor of Forums at PBS NewsHour, where she created interactive online forums that helped increase and engage the NewsHour's online audience. She was an inaugural member of the Online News Association-Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media, and she has presented at conferences across the country, including SXSW, ONA, the Logan Symposium, the Reynolds Journalism Institute and others. She earned her master's degree in journalism from UC Berkeley and undergraduate degree at the University of Oregon. Farnsworth is based at Reveal's Emeryville, California, office.