Earlier today, The Atlantic and American Public Media announced the American Futures project, a joint reporting effort that will take their journalists on a cross-country trip to document changes occurring in small towns across the country. This project relies on mapping technology from Esri to plan and record the trip and showcase the project’s findings.
The Atlantic and American Public Media’s Marketplace today announced a new joint reporting project, “American Futures,” that will take their journalists on a cross-country trip to document the dramatic economic, technological, cultural, and social changes under way in small towns and cities across the nation. By adapting the long-standing American tradition of discovering the country through an extended coast-to-coast journey, and applying sophisticated mapping technology from the software company Esri, the reporting initiative will showcase the people, communities, companies, and trends that are emerging out of the past decade’s economic, technological, and demographic disruption.
James Fallows, national correspondent for The Atlantic and a pilot, and his wife, the linguist and author Deborah Fallows, will travel from one small-town airport to the next in their propeller-driven Cirrus SR-22 airplane, spending time in towns and cities that mainstream news coverage often overlooks. Kai Ryssdal, host and senior editor of Marketplace, and his team will report from various legs of the trip.
Among the topics the project will explore are:
“American Futures” launches today on a special destination on TheAtlantic.com, with ongoing segments to air on Marketplace, heard on public radio stations nationwide, and to appear on marketplace.org, beginning September 2. The Atlantic magazine will also have coverage of the journey. The trip kicks off in Holland, Michigan, a site of traditional American manufacturing and exporting strength, and stops in the coming weeks will include South Dakota, Wyoming, Missouri, and Indiana, with many more across the country to be announced as the expedition unfolds.
The Atlantic and Marketplace have partnered with Esri, a leader in mapping technology, to add a powerful visual component to “American Futures.” Esri’s technology will enrich the reporting initiative with a collection of interactive maps that merge real-time statistics, demographic information, text, pictures, audio, and video.
“During our years of living outside the United States, Deb and I have always learned a lot by getting on a bus or train and reporting what we find as we travel across a place,” James Fallows said. “There is a long and honored American tradition of similar voyages of discovery. Every time we’ve made a ‘road trip by air,’ we’ve been fascinated to spend time in places that are far from interstates or big cities but have their own small airports as connections to the world. With the help of Esri’s innovative software for planning and recording our trip, and with Marketplace as the ideal partner for chronicling changes in the fabric of America’s commercial and cultural life, we’re excited to update an American reportorial tradition with new explanatory tools.”
“There are stories to be told in America that have to be sought out—that have to be found and discovered—before they can be told. That’s what this project is about. Jim and Deb Fallows’s idea of teaming with Esri to find those stories from the air and then explain them on the ground is a perfect fit for Marketplace. It’s a great chance to use technology and creativity to help our readers and listeners understand the way our economy and society are changing,” said Ryssdal.
Siemens is the exclusive launch sponsor of “American Futures” across The Atlantic’s digital platforms.
About The Atlantic
Since its founding in 1857 as a magazine about “the American Idea” that would be of “no party or clique,” The Atlantic has been at the forefront of brave thinking in journalism. One of the first magazines to launch on the Web in the early 1990s, The Atlantic has continued to help shape the national debate across print, digital, and event platforms. With the addition of its news- and opinion-tracking site, TheAtlanticWire.com, TheAtlanticCities.com on global cities, and digital publication The Atlantic Weekly, The Atlantic is a multi-media forum on the most critical issues of our times—from politics, business, urban affairs, and the economy, to technology, arts, and culture. The Atlantic is the flagship property of Washington, D.C.–based publisher Atlantic Media.
About Marketplace and American Public Media
Marketplace is produced and distributed by American Public Media™ (APM), one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world with a portfolio reaching nearly 17 million listeners via nearly 900 radio stations nationwide each. Marketplace, Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace Tech Report and Marketplace Money are currently broadcast by more than 500 public radio stations across the United States and are heard by nearly 10 million weekly listeners. Content from Marketplace programs is also available at Marketplace.org, iHeartRadio, Slacker Radio, Stitcher Radio, iTunes, Flipboard, LinkedIn and Google Currents. Marketplace programs are well known for their timely, relevant and accessible coverage of the latest business news, the global economy and wider events linked to the financial markets. For more information on Marketplace visit marketplace.org. For more information on American Public Media visit americanpublicmedia.org.
