State News Website Announces Redesign

Posted on September 27, 1999

stateline.org, an online news service that focuses on public policy developments in the 50 states, has announced a comprehensive redesign of its website. stateline.org reports each weekday on developments at the state government level that directly affect people's lives: issues like health care, education, tax and budget policy. Its lead stories are written by a staff of professional journalists and contract writers who include some of the top statehouse reporters in the country.

The site is a function of the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Center on the States, a non-partisan, non-profit organization funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts to strengthen the country's democratic institutions by fostering greater public awareness of important policy innovations in the states. Updated each weekday at 11 AM Eastern Time, stateline.org includes a roundup of state government stories from newspapers throughout the United States in addition to its original content. It also provides background information on state government policies and personalities, and comparative statistical data.

In recent weeks, stateline.org has reported on such topics as how Texas Gov. George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" is working in his home state, why states like Illinois and Nebraska are taking a second look at the death penalty, and the downside of a new trend toward providing food stamps and other public assistance electronically.

"State capitals are where the action is these days because of the partisan paralysis in Washington, D.C. and the process of devolution -- the transfer of money and power from federal to state government. We bring new Internet technology and cutting-edge journalism to this important story," said stateline.org Executive Editor Edward M. Fouhy, a former network television executive.