New Digital Publication - The Fiscal Times - Launches

Offers Independent Reporting and Opinion on Fiscal, Budgetary, Economic and Political Issues

WASHINGTON, March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Fiscal Times, a new independent digital news publication devoted to quality reporting on vital fiscal, budgetary, health care and international economic issues today officially launched its site. The Web site, www.thefiscaltimes.com, offers a wide array of original content from a roster of experienced journalists, whose contributions will aim to drive the conversation surrounding our nation's most pressing economic and political issues. It also features content from The Washington Post, Kaiser Health News, Bankrate.com, and AP, in addition to housing a research center.  The Fiscal Times will hold its official launch event this evening at the Newseum, an event co-hosted by its founder, Peter G. Peterson, and Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute.  

"There has never been a greater need and public appetite for the kind of reporting and commentary The Fiscal Times is committed to producing," said Peter G. Peterson, who provided the initial funding for the publication. "The Fiscal Times is a new entity whose time has come: an independent publication comprised of top journalists covering the important economic issues of our time. Now more than ever these complex issues should be debated and discussed—an informed public dialogue is critical to our democracy."

"Amid the economic climate we have weathered over the past two years, there has without question been an information deficit with respect to some of the most serious issues we face as a country," said Walter Isaacson, who is co-hosting the launch event and formerly served as chairman and CEO of CNN and managing editor of TIME.  "To create a publication that solely focuses on fiscal, economic, budgetary and economic issues that have often been consigned to policy journals and think tanks is a bold move, and one we should all applaud."

The Fiscal Times has retained a group of veteran journalists who will be writing for its Web site, including the following contributors:

• Editor-in-Chief Jackie Leo, former editor-in-chief of Reader's Digest and editorial director of Consumer Reports
• Washington Editor Eric Pianin, former The Washington Post editor and budget reporter
• Edmund Andrews, former economics reporter for The New York Times
• John Berry, former economics reporter for The Washington Post
• Ann Reilly Dowd, former Washington Bureau chief for Fortune and Money Magazine
• David Ewing Duncan, journalist, television producer and author who has written widely on health care and science
• Bradley Graham, former Pentagon reporter for The Washington Post
• Merrill Goozner, health care blogger and former Asia correspondent and chief financial  writer for the Chicago Tribune
• Tom Herman, former  tax policy writer for The Wall Street Journal
• Dan Morgan, former congressional reporter for The Washington Post investigative and author  
• William Neikirk, former Chicago Tribune economics and congressional reporter
• Elaine Povich, a former congressional and budget reporter for the Chicago Tribune
• Katherine Reynolds Lewis, former financial reporter for Bloomberg News and Newhouse News Service
• Eric Schurenberg, editor-in-chief of CBS BNET

"The Fiscal Times enters a media landscape characterized by increasingly popular niche and investigative news sources," said Jackie Leo. "By creating a publication that seeks to become the most trusted news source covering government policy and economic issues, we believe we will develop a large and growing underserved readership."

"For better or worse, the eyes of the financial world from New York to Hong Kong to London are now focused squarely on Washington," said Eric Pianin, Washington editor of The Fiscal Times. "The decisions being made here right now will have generational implications. Our reporting will bring this critical decision-making into focus."

The Fiscal Times Advisory Committee

An advisory committee consisting of leading professional journalists and public policy experts will monitor the operations of The Fiscal Times and periodically meet with editors and executives to assess performance and progress in meeting its goals and standards.

• Robert D. Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute and former director of the Congressional Budget Office
• Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation and former commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services
• Jim Brady, president, digital strategy of Allbritton Communications and former executive editor of washingtonpost.com
• Jodie T.  Allen, senior editor of the Pew Research Center, former managing editor and political columnist for U.S. News & World Report, and editor of The Washington Post Sunday "Outlook" section
• G. William Hoagland, CIGNA Corporation's Public Policy group director and former policy and budget adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and staff director of the Senate Budget Committee

About The Fiscal Times

The Fiscal Times is a digital news, opinion and media service devoted to comprehensive quality reporting on vital fiscal, budgetary, health care and international economic issues.  The Fiscal Times strives to become one of the most trusted sources of news, opinion and research in the field of fiscal policy reporting. The senior editors and producers of The Fiscal Times have sole responsibility for the selection, editing and display of articles, graphics, illustrations and video that appear on the site. The Fiscal Times strives to present fair, accurate and balanced reporting and to serve as an honest broker in sorting through a broad range of viewpoints. The editorial staff will operate from offices in New York and the National Press Building in Washington, D.C.  The Fiscal Times Media Group has been organized as a limited liability company (LLC) in Delaware.

SOURCE The Fiscal Times