NASHVILLE -- The Tennessean announced today it will partner with Middle Tennessee State University to launch Brainstorm Nashville, a digital hub for civic engagement designed to foster community problem solving.
Brainstorm Nashville (www.BrainstormNashville.com) was created by The Tennessean to capitalize on the altruistic momentum derived from Nashville’s historic flood of 2010. It is designed to be a centralized, community-wide collaboration tool for those with ideas, initiative and resources to put toward solving ongoing problems facing the region.
The initiative, still in beta form, is now live with childhood obesity as its marquee topic, and others are planned for promotion each month. Topics will be chosen based on frequent conversations with a variety of stakeholders, including partners and readers. Successes achieved through Brainstorm Nashville will be celebrated online, in print, via social media and in real life.
Middle Tennessee State University joins as a contributor and supporter, reinforcing its leadership role in education and public service throughout the region. Working with MTSU and other partners, Brainstorm Nashville activities will also extend to events and grass-roots efforts to raise awareness and encourage involvement.
“As Tennessee’s largest undergraduate university, and the largest institution serving the Nashville metropolitan area, MTSU puts a great priority upon partnerships that enhance the state’s educational, social, cultural and economic well-being,” said MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee.
“We welcome this opportunity to work with The Tennessean to spark public dialogue, raise awareness and help foster civic involvement.”
Brainstorm Nashville was built with input from dozens of community groups, government and business leaders, churches, non-profits and many other thinkers, givers and doers in Middle Tennessee who see a need for a
“We view Brainstorm Nashville not only as the editorial page of the future, but a catalyst for community action” said Maria De Varenne, executive editor and vice president of The Tennessean. “We are thrilled to have MTSU join this effort to improve the quality of life in Middle Tennessee.”
Brainstorm Nashville seeks to build community in the digital age. The Tennessean offers a unique ability to accomplish this based on its reach (100,000+ unique visitors each day), audience (the most engaged, influential, active adults in Middle Tennessee), and ability to moderate, distribute and offer context on important topics.
MTSU offers more than 140 undergraduate and 50 graduate programs through its nine colleges. More than 70 percent of its 100,000-plus graduates remain in Tennessee and 60 percent of its alumni live and work within the Middle Tennessee area. Its Center for Innovation in Media, located in the College of Mass Communication, opened this year and provides state-of-the-art multimedia content development skills to student journalists.
To get involved, visit www.BrainstormNashville.com. Register using your Facebook log-in and provide your email to be notified of upcoming topics.
The Tennessean Media Group is a multimedia company that publishes The Tennessean and Tennessean.com – the most complete sources of local news and information in Middle Tennessee. Products and services also serve targeted audiences and specific advertisers to meet their information and business needs, including community newspapers, magazines, niche publications and interest-based web sites as well as consumer driven print & online products for automotive, real estate and employment. The Tennessean Media Group is owned by the Gannett Co., Inc.