Poynter To Share Space with Two New Digital Startups

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., May 28, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Poynter Institute announced that it will share unused space at its St. Petersburg, Fla. campus with two digital startup firms. The move comes one week after Poynter unveiled its new strategic vision, which focuses on it being an incubator for innovation in the media industry and optimizing its campus space to host other innovative companies.

Poynter is leasing office space to Check I'm here, LLC, the creator of a cloud platform that manages, tracks and engages students and organizations on college campuses and Tribunat, LLC, a knowledge-based media community for investors.

"I'm excited these companies are under our roof," said Poynter president Tim Franklin. "Poynter is a mature organization that operates with the heart of a startup. The energy and entrepreneurial drive of these young companies are a great fit with Poynter at this time in our history."

Poynter sits in the heart of the city of St. Petersburg's planned Innovation District. The move helps it support the city's economic development and continues its role as a community leader, according to the mayor's office.

"The City of St. Petersburg is particularly pleased with Poynter's plans to catapult its commitment to innovation by sharing space with local startups that are also committed to this focus," said Kanika Tomalin, St. Petersburg's Deputy Mayor. "The potential for St. Petersburg's Innovation District is a notable cornerstone of the City's economic development efforts. We are fortunate to have, in very close proximity to Poynter, world-class health care providers, researchers, educators and scientists - all committed to moving the ball forward through innovations that set the standard for their respective sectors… Poynter is a key player in that effort and this move to share space underscores its longstanding commitment to lead the community in thought and action."

The two new companies began leasing space from The Poynter Institute this week.

"From an innovation standpoint, the space at Poynter was perfect for what we were looking for," said Reuben Pressman, Founder and CEO of Check I'm Here, LLC. "Because we're a startup, being in shared space, surrounded by like-minded companies, it's creating a culture that there's a lot happening right here, right now. That's something we want to be a part of."

"St. Pete itself is one of the most vibrant, exciting, supportive and rapidly growing cities in the bay area," added Tribunat Vice President and Co-founder Rachel Carpenter. "Poynter is not only located in a beautiful area of south St. Pete, but being surrounded by the youth, vigor, and ambition of a student population, coupled with the prestige and stellar reputation of The Poynter Institute, made coming to this space a no-brainer."

About The Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute for Media Studies is an international leader in journalism education, and a strategy center that stands for uncompromising excellence in journalism, media and 21st century public discourse. Poynter faculty teach seminars and workshops at the Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., and at conferences and organizational sites around the world. Its e-learning division, News University, www.newsu.org, offers the world's largest online journalism curriculum in 6 languages, with more than 400 interactive courses and 290,000 registered users in more than 200 countries. The Institute's website, www.poynter.org, produces 24-hour coverage of news about media, ethics, technology, the business of news and the trends that currently define and redefine journalism news reporting. The world's top journalists and media innovators come to Poynter to learn and teach new generations of reporters, storytellers, media inventors, designers, visual journalists, documentarians and broadcast producers, and to build public awareness about journalism, media, the First Amendment and protected discourse that serves democracy and the public good.

Contact
Kim Tobin
Marketing Communications Strategy Manager
The Poynter Institute
[email protected]
727-553-4707

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SOURCE The Poynter Institute