ClearGov Launches Unique Content Distribution Network to Attract, Inform, and Engage More Citizens Gov-Tech innovator partners with Patch, Ballotpedia, and GateHouse Media to help local agencies expand their reach and battle the growing spread of misinformationMaynard, MA (5/8/19) – ClearGov, a leader in municipal technology, announced today it has partnered with three leading media organizations to help local governments and school districts better promote their progress and performance by distributing reliable, data-rich content across highly trafficked web portals. This content includes unique, infographic-based fiscal transparency profiles powered by the most comprehensive municipal financial database in the world. To date, ClearGov has built transparency profiles for every civic entity in the United States and for every school district in six states. Now, ClearGov plans to syndicate this rich fiscal and performance data to a growing partner network of news sites that include Patch, Ballotpedia, and GateHouse Media. The goal is to help local governments reach, inform, and engage more citizens with information they can trust. “These three popular and highly respected news outlets form the foundation of a powerful and expansive distribution network,” said ClearGov CEO Chris Bullock. “Our goal is to give local agencies broader access to the communities they serve, while simultaneously promoting their content to residents and businesses outside their community who may be looking to relocate or invest. We’re actively seeking to connect with other media sites hungry for local content and interested in sharing our fiscal, demographic, and project-related profile data with their civic-minded audiences.” With Americans busier than ever and physical attendance at public meetings dwindling, it’s incumbent upon local agencies to uncover new ways to communicate with their constituents. ClearGov believes that distributing municipal content on highly trafficked sites like Patch, Ballotpedia, and GateHouse will empower local agencies to get the word out about community issues to more interested stakeholders. Newly released Pew Center findings reveal nearly nine in 10 Americans currently get at least some local news digitally. Bullock said, “With more people getting their information online, it’s important for local governments to control their narrative. There’s a lot of misinformation out there and it’s increasingly difficult for folks to discern fact from fiction. The more opportunities local governments have to get the facts out to their residents the better.” Now, communities with an active ClearGov transparency site will have a new way to get their content in front of more of those digital consumers than ever before. Currently, Patch hosts about 1,200 ClearGov-driven profiles and Ballotpedia has published nearly 40,000. GateHouse recently launched its first ClearGov profiles and plans to extend to sites throughout its network by mid-2019. The Patch network, which serves communities, towns, and cities in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., collectively generates about 25 million monthly unique visitors. Patch CEO Warren St. John said, “Sourcing accurate town-level government data in an age of misinformation is a challenge for both citizens and reporters. Patch’s integration with ClearGov provides both our users and our journalists with reliable and granular data about how local governments function and spend.” Ballotpedia boasts more than 285,000 articles on its site and more than 1 billion page views since its 2007 launch. In the last year alone, the site averaged 4.3 million monthly unique visitors. “We’re committed to providing accurate and objective information about politics at all levels of government to our growing user base,” said Ballotpedia CEO and founder Leslie Graves. “We’re excited to partner with ClearGov to empower voters with access to easy-to-understand financials so they can make better informed decisions at the ballot box. GateHouse Media, one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the country, operates in 580 markets across 37 states and reaches more than 22 million people weekly. In aggregate, Patch, Ballotpedia, and GateHouse Media attract over 450 million page views on a monthly basis. Bullock adds, “The distribution of ClearGov content across this growing network of frequently visited news sites will help local towns and school districts deliver their data (and tell their story) to many more residents and drive further engagement with their ClearGov transparency profile,” said Bullock. The official launch of this unique distribution network comes on the heels of ClearGov’s release of a new project communications solution that allows agency officials to quickly create and publish project pages that shine a spotlight on capital development. Project content will also be disseminated to news sites in the ClearGov network, effectively getting timely information about important community initiatives to more viewers. About ClearGovClearGov is on a mission to build a community of transparent, data-driven, modern governments. ClearGov provides a full suite of turnkey, cloud-based solutions to help local municipalities drive transparency, streamline budgeting, and better engage residents. ClearGov’s award-winning platform is currently used by hundreds of communities across 26 different states. For more information, visit www.cleargov.com. ### PRESS CONTACT: About PatchPatch is a hyperlocal platform that currently serves over 1,200 communities, towns and cities across the U.S. Known as “The Patch” by its users, Patch is the go-to destination for hyperlocal news and discussion about your community. For more information regarding Patch, please visit www.patch.com. About BallotpediaBallotpedia is the online encyclopedia of American politics and elections. Its goal is to preserve and expand knowledge about politics by providing objective information about local, state, and federal politics and policies. Its content includes trustworthy information readers can rely on, covering government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections, candidates, and the influencers of politics. Headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin, Ballotpedia was founded in 2006. It includes over 270,000 professionally authored encyclopedic articles that have garnered over 1 billion page views. For more information regarding Ballotpedia, please contact media@Ballotpedia.org. About GateHouse Media, LLCGateHouse Media, headquartered in Pittsford, New York, is a wholly owned subsidiary of New Media Investment Group Inc., which is focused primarily on investing in a high quality, diversified portfolio of local media assets and on growing existing advertising and digital marketing and business services. GateHouse Media is one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States, as measured by its 146 daily publications. As of December 30, 2018, the company operates in over 580 markets across 37 states, reaching over 22 million people on a weekly basis and serves over 199,000 business customers. For more information regarding GateHouse Media, please visit www.gatehousemedia.com. Is Your Financial Data Clear to Residents?Use ClearGov Insights and keep local residents in the loop with your whole story:  |
