Launch of America's First Ever "Education Reform" News Gathering Service

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today marks the official launch of Choice Media (http://ChoiceMedia.TV/), a non-profit news service dedicated to covering all facets of American Education Reform. Choice Media will feature exclusive news stories and commentaries from a variety of education experts.

"Education remains the most under-reported facet of American life by the traditional news media. The coverage it does receive is often shallow and scandal-focused, with too little attention paid to the intractable systemic failures of a broken education model. Choice Media will attempt to redress this imbalance," said Bob Bowdon, Founder of Choice Media.

Bowdon says the crisis in America's education system is all to apparent, as only 26% of high school seniors tested proficient in math on the most recent NAEP test, an exam administered by the U.S. Department of Education and given to 49,000 twelfth-graders in all 50 states. Just last week, according to the College Board, SAT reading scores fell to the lowest level on record.

"In many cities, local public education has become a bloated bureaucracy, more focused on job protection than the interests of children, with higher spending being the only type of reform acceptable to the establishment. But, in the wake of countless high-profile failures where this has been tried, the 'money equals quality' philosophy can no longer be plausibly argued," said Bowdon.

Drawing on Bowdon's experience in TV and film, ChoiceMedia.TV will provide original video news reports and exclusive interviews with those making waves in the education world. ChoiceMedia.TV currently features a video news piece on the under-reporting of violence in Philadelphia schools. Also featured is a discussion with Neerav Kingsland of New Schools for New Orleans about that city's charter school revolution in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

ChoiceMedia.TV will also offer video testimonials from students, parents and teachers around the country. Readers with a personal education story are urged to send a video testimonial or whistleblower email to ChoiceMedia.TV.

About the Bob Bowdon, Founder of Choice Media

Bob Bowdon has been a television producer, reporter and commentator for the past fifteen years, anchoring and hosting news and opinion programs for PBS, Bloomberg Television and other national cable and syndication outlets. He's also appeared on the Onion News Network in a series of satirical news videos.  

"The Cartel," Bowdon's documentary film about corruption in public education, won awards from twelve film festivals, including festivals in Washington DC, Atlanta, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.  "The Cartel" is distributed nationally by Warner Brothers.

The film makes the case for school choice in the form of charter schools and vouchers, as well as other reforms that would improve public education. Its release pre-dated the 2010 film "Waiting for Superman," and it helped ignite a larger education reform movement that continues to grow.

Contact: Mark Goldman, +1-516-639-0988, [email protected], or Ryan McCormick, +1-516-901-1103, [email protected], both for ChoiceMedia.TV

SOURCE Choice Media