A Pew study last year found that more Americans are getting their news online (37%) than from the newspaper (34%). Each year, increasing numbers of Americans are getting their news from online sources than traditional media outlets. In a state like Maine, those trends may be slightly less pronounced, but even in Maine, the social networking site, Facebook, reportedly has 307,640 users. Most recently, news from protestors in Iran was disseminated to the outside world through Twitter.
This is important to an organization like the ACLU of MAINE because a critical part of our mission is public education about the Bill of Rights. We can effect positive change on issues like marriage equality or torture and detention policy only if we educate and enlist the broader public to our cause.
That's why, starting today, we're blogging on a regular basis. You can read about Zach's legal cases, Alysia's lobbying in the legislature, or Brianna's visits to schools right here as these events happen. As we make the news, we will report it. We'll update you consistently on major local, state and national civil liberties and civil rights issues. We're also on Twitter and Facebook.
I anticipate mistakes along the way. The blogging medium is faster and more casual than a newsletter article. It also lends itself to typographical errors or incomplete reporting. Twitter and Facebook one-liners can be insightful, incitant or insipid. Please let us know what you think. E-mail me at info at mclu.org.