[July 29, 2011] AlterNet, RawStory and UberMedia Join Forces to Launch NewsForward Tweet Jul 29, 2011 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- AlterNet and RawStory, two companies focused on online independent news, have joined forces with UberMedia, developers of the Twitter app, to produce NewsForward -- a mashup of the latest breaking news, investigative reports and political opinion from independent news sources, cable news outlets, liberal bloggers, top progressive tweeters, advocacy organizations, elected officials and political insiders. Unlike other news and politics aggregators built on RSS feeds, NewsForward employs Twitter as a platform. "What the UberMedia platform allows us to do is mix curation with conversation ...the future of news," says Roxanne Cooper, Publisher of Raw Story. "Because the Twitter audience is so diverse demographically, we're excited about the opportunity to both deliver news and information to readers who don't traditionally follow politics, as well as introduce social media to more conventional audiences." The Company said the app includes the latest breaking news and opinion from thousands of curated sources, including MSNBC, Talking Points Memo, Current TV, Media Matters, Think Progress, SEIU, ACLU, Amnesty International, Obama for America, Daily Kos, Colorlines, Mother Jones, AlterNet, RawStory, The Nation, Firedoglake, Ms. Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, Guardian (UK), PBS, Washington Post, New York Times, Salon, Greenpeace, and MoveOn. "NewsForward offers a personalized aggregation tool that allows me to connect to my favorite progressive news sources. Fantastic!" says Jo Ellen Kaiser, Executive Director of The Media Consortium. According to a release, topic channels (Labor, Rights, Environment, Education, etc.) feature tweets from news media, topic professionals and politicians. Current followers of the "Media" channel, for example, can participate in conversations with celebrities like Bill Maher and organizations like Media Matters as they both discuss the Murdoch phone-hacking scandal. "NewsForward is a perfect example of just how customizable the Twitter experience can be for content creators and their followers," said Jon Kraft, chief operating officer of UberMedia, Inc. "We're really pleased with the product and look forward to working with Raw Story and AlterNet to help them increase user engagement on the ever-popular topic of national politics." AlterNet is a progressive news magazine and online community that reaches more than 2.3 million visitors per month. Raw Story has grown from a pure play political news site to a collaborative, investigative powerhouse that reaches more than 1.6 million readers per month. UberMedia is an independent developer of applications and web-based services that make it easier for users to find, follow and communicate with others on Twitter and other social media platforms. More information: www.ubermedia.com www.idealab.com ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]