About

Who we are

pa2012.com is a one-stop-shop for following the Keystone State’s critical election cycles including Federal and municipal, combining hard-hitting, reported news and analysis integrated with opinion content from across the political spectrum and the state. With a commitment to both insider political news and coverage of important policy issues, as well as a strong emphasis on social-network news-gathering and reader involvement, pa2012.com continues to appeal to insiders, political junkies and more casual observers alike.

Why we’re here

2010 was a watershed year in Pennsylvania’s political history, when we learned that the state’s recent “Blue” shift to the left was in no way sustainable. We now have a Republican Governor in Harrisburg and working with a mandate for change. A longtime Senator was replaced in a hard-nosed battle that left the two parties very divided. Numerous seats changed hands, strengthening PA House control for the GOP while flipping it in the US Congress. News is happening all the time, and we’re here to cover, link, distribute, and debate it. But more importantly, we’re here because the leaders we elected in 2010 will play a defining role in the future of our Commonwealth and going into the Presidential election of 2012. This race as have many others, has already begun.

Pennsylvanians deserve to know what’s going on from a trusted independent source, and we deserve an interactive place to discuss and debate the important decisions we will make as voters. pa2012.com is here to provide it.

What we do

We cover the gubernatorial, senatorial, congressional primary, municipal and general elections in Pennsylvania with an eye towards federal elections. We cover the issues brought forth by these campaigns and provide a variety of media for you to interact with. By focusing exclusively on key races, we break news every day, and enable you to delve deep into analysis of the political landscape. As a non-partisan news organization, we report not out of allegiance to ideology or party, but from an obligation to the greater good. We hold all politicians accountable for their words—and their actions. Contact us at anytime via (editor at pa2012.com) if you have a story or tip.

Voices

The pa2010.com was a test ground of sorts. We listened to the people we met in the last cycle. We asked many questions, polled users and non users alike, questioned our framework, and most importantly remained agile in our attempts to provide readers news you could trust.

We have great plans for the Voices section of the site going forward. As you know, Voices is more than just an opinion section. It is an all-purpose, integrated, soap box for the political discourse that surrounds these races. This is our Press club. Check out our op-ed articles and multi-media from candidates, party officials, policy advocates and political junkies of every stripe—or better yet, write your own.  Debate your friends and foes through reader comments. At pa2012.com, it’s your voice that matters

Boosting your candidate

pa2012.com is more than just a news source. pa2012.com’s audience is a versatile  messaging platform for candidates and issues of every kind. Send us press releases for publication and we will syndicate them on our RSS feed. Tell us about your TV and radio appearances so we can post video and audio. Share your policy papers with our readers, and articulate your positions in op-ed articles. Submit responses to articles. Send us campaign advertisements. At pa2012.com, everyone gets the last word.

Onward …

Since October we have been actively investigating and interviewing reporters, bloggers, networks, communities, schools, community organizations, political operatives, and other contributors.

We have been doing this with the plan to launch regular reporting Feb 1^st. We want to thank the many people who have shown interest in reporting as well as the cadre of bloggers and users in our forums. It’s been very enlightening to say the least. We have begun our active “Live” design process and strongly encourage you to let us know what you want for this site. We are excited to have 8 more months this cycle than we did last time around.

Rest assured, we will continue to provide the exhausting coverage and independent peace of mind you expect. This includes, as so eloquently debated in the blogs, anonymous posting.

Thank you as always,

Benjamin F. Barnett

Publisher, Pa2012.com

338 Brown St

Philadelphia, Pa 19123

215 592 – 1242 (news room)

267 228 – 0333

Publisher – Media Bureau, Inc.

Media Bureau is a Media agency based out of Philadelphia, PA. Media Bureau produced the first online debates in the State of PA and has covered the Political landscape from a unique “multi-media” vantage point since then.

Benjamin Barnett

Benjamin Barnett was the Digital Media Strategist and micro-blogger for pa2010.com. He is the founder and digital media strategist for the Philadelphia-based Media Bureau. Ben has recently taken a more active role as Publisher of PA2012.com.

Founder – Dan Hirschhorn

Dan Hirschhorn is the founder of PAPN (pa2010.com). A native of Philadelphia, Dan has worked at newspapers in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. He has worked at ESPN and previously worked for PolitickerPA.com.  Dan currently works as a Reporter and Editor at http://Politico.com and is active as a member of the PA2012.com Editors Circle.