Let’s begin with the need. Wherever you sit on the political spectrum, whatever your net worth, profession or station in life, there’s one thing everyone seems to agree on these days: We’re coming apart — and it’s all someone else’s fault. Polarization has somehow become the new cultural religion.

Here at the newly formed Citizen Media Group, we take some comfort in the knowledge that this divided state of things is not necessarily new. We’ve been here before. And what can quiet the hysteria is … us. Earlier this year, I saw former President Bill Clinton speak at The Free Library. “If you scratch hard enough,” he advised the room, “eventually you’re going to find a human being.”

When things go haywire in the world and the nation, what we have control over is local.

So how do we get back to scratching a little harder? How do we begin again to recognize ourselves in one another? The answer is as old as our history. Indeed, it’s as old as our city. And that’s why we here at The Citizen just bought Philadelphia magazine. Because when things go haywire in the world and the nation, what we have control over is local.

There is nothing rational, after all, about cities. Let’s take all these people of different origins and backgrounds and have them live on top of one another … What could go wrong? Turns out, in that seeming irrationality is our answer. What unites us is our story and our stories, reflected back to us in ways that inspire and spur imaginative thinking. Stories that call us to common interest, and move us in a common way.

Welcome to an ever-evolving, thrilling, innovative experiment in new media for a new Philadelphia age.

It is, after all, no mere coincidence that democracy is imperiled at the same time that legacy media is in retreat — a connection predicted by a 33-year-old dude with a penchant for powdered wigs who presciently jotted down some thoughts in a basement at 7th and Market streets, at a time when — get this — Philadelphia was home to some 29 newspapers.

It was clear to ol’ TJ then that our common project is the pursuit of a “more perfect union.” That word — more — was kinda key, and so it remains today. In fact, it’s why we’re taking this big step today. Philadelphia needs to get its swagger back and we need a new regional voice that brings us together, that reveals ourselves to ourselves — and to the world. A city that is really as much about curing cancer as it is about slathering Wiz on gristly meat is one in need of a thoughtful new public narrative.

Living well and doing good

That’s how we see this merger: As distinct but intertwined brands, The Philadelphia Citizen and Philadelphia magazine will serve as the city and region’s premier go-to voice for how to live well and do good in Philadelphia. Philadelphia magazine is a storied brand that still features stellar writing and superb service, covering our restaurants and lifestyle scenes. The Citizen has become a solutions-first civic voice that holds power to account. Now, across our many platforms — Philly mag, thephiladelphiacitizen.org, phillymag.com, events, podcasts and newsletters — you’ll get a panoply of lifestyle service, deep storytelling, solutions journalism, consumer-forward and thought-leadership events, as well as calls for nonpartisan civic action. Together, it all adds up to a way for a fractured city and disparate region to find common purpose and common ground.

A couple of decades ago, in a far, far away media universe, I was Philadelphia magazine’s editor. That was a widely read and highly praised monthly magazine. But this ain’t about looking back at that. We’re looking forward, thinking bigger. We’re really in the community-building business. Think of it: If the railroads of yesteryear had realized they were actually in the transportation business — and not just the railroad business — our airlines today would be named the Atcheson, the Topeka and the Santa Fe. Similarly, if legacy media had recognized that it’s really in the community, rather than just the information business, perhaps it wouldn’t be in its current death spiral.

New Philly mag editor Christy Speer Lejeune likes to say she’ll be overseeing the production of “Philadelphia’s ultimate user’s guide,” and isn’t that what’s precisely needed today? It’s harder than ever to navigate your own backyard and to stay up on the stories that shape our zeitgeist. Add to that The Citizen’s focus on solutions and its sometimes outraged hectoring for the powerful to do better and what do you get? A voice pushing its city to get its damn swagger back.

We’re not interested in just shooting content out into the ether. Instead, we want to enlist you in the effort to remake The Philadelphia Story.

We seek to become the region’s virtual and actual Town Square. And our ethos reflects our mission. We are: Smart, joyful, hard-hitting, fair, solutions-oriented, enthusiastic and innovative. We ain’t: Ideological, objective, snide, and driven to chase clicks. We encourage point of view, provided it’s driven by in-depth, professional reporting. We’re for what works and against what doesn’t. Most importantly, we have fun — because when you have fun creating media, it’s a spirit that can magically transfer to those who consume it. It’s the damnedest thing.

We’re not interested in just shooting content out into the ether. Instead, we want to enlist you in the effort to remake The Philadelphia Story. As a nonprofit, we want to cultivate an army of members who help shape and evangelize for a new version of ourselves. In fact, stay tuned for a long-held dream of mine — the opportunity for you to become a “stakeholder” in the Citizen Media Group, borrowed from the model of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers, which is owned by its fans. (In all other respects, I hate the Packers and everything about them. Your frozen tundra can kiss my Eagle-green ass.)

The founding chairman of The Citizen was the late, great civic innovator Jeremy Nowak, who liked to say that we talk about patriotism all the time in this country, often in the most superficial of ways. “But we never talk about local patriotism,” he’d say. “It’s not even a thing.”

Well, if we stand for anything, it’s that holding the door for your neighbor at Wawa, celebrating a chef who puts it all on the line to make her dream a reality, learning how to navigate an often confusing healthcare system, or holding a corrupt elected official to account — these are all acts of local patriotism. We are called to such action by sharing a common story. Because without it, we’re just a bunch of strangers — and we know where that gets us. Welcome to an ever-evolving, thrilling, innovative experiment in new media for a new Philadelphia age.

Larry Platt is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of The Philadelphia Citizen.

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