Community
Building More Than News: Introducing True News and What's Coming Next
A note from the publisher: True News is owned by Bagley Enterprises, the same Philadelphia company behind the other platforms described below. We're telling you that up front because an independent news site should be clear about who runs it.
Why True News exists
People need reliable information about where they live and who represents them, without the noise. True News has no political affiliation and endorses no party or candidate. Our headlines come from official government sources and established newsrooms, every story from our community is checked by a human editor before it's published, and stories about public officials must cite their sources.
What you can use today
• A local briefing: weather alerts, emergencies and local headlines for your state or your location (your location is used for the lookup and never stored).
• Headlines from official sources such as federal agencies, plus public newsrooms, sorted into national, government, economy, health and wellness, sports and world news.
• Your officials: thousands of elected officials across all 50 states and the territories, with contact information.
• Follow the money: candidates for Congress in every state and who is funding their campaigns, from Federal Election Commission data.
• Write for us: anyone can send a story tip or a community story, and student journalists and correspondents can join as contributors.
• The True News app: install it free on your phone or computer from the "Get the app" page, or get our weekly email briefing.
The bigger picture
True News is one part of a set of platforms Bagley Enterprises is building, each with its own job:
• Black Box Marketplace, an online marketplace built to highlight and support Black American businesses, open to all sellers. It is still being prepared for launch.
• Sentinel, a commodities and market data platform, also in development.
• The data system that collects public information from official sources and feeds these platforms.
• The Maintenance Academy, an online trades training program.
The Maintenance Academy
The Maintenance Academy teaches the skills behind steady, well-paid work: construction basics and safety, electrical, HVAC, plumbing, property maintenance, floor care and green jobs. Lessons are written to be reviewed by licensed tradespeople, hands-on skills are signed off in the field by working instructors, and lessons show the codes and licensing rules for the state where each learner works. It grows out of the Black Boots Initiative, which was built first to open the skilled trades, and the businesses behind them, to Black Americans, and which also serves other people of color, low-income residents, veterans and returning citizens.
The Academy is still in development. It will open enrollment after it receives the approvals Pennsylvania requires for career schools, and we'll report on that process here.
Come along
Install the app, sign up for the weekly briefing, send us your story tips, and look out for our Black Business Spotlight series and more news on the Academy in the weeks ahead. If something is happening in your community, tell us. An editor reads every submission.
Sources
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Newspapers, newsletters, blogs and community groups may republish this story free, in print or online, if they:
- keep the byline and credit it to True News, with a link to the original (included below);
- don't change its meaning (trimming for length and house style is fine);
- don't sell it on its own or add photos that aren't ours.
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