Gosh, where have they been?
We’ve been a “single-topic” website on the subject of refugees for going on nine years! We’re an “organic outgrowth.” We’ve got this “microcommunity” covered! (And, we didn’t need a dime from some rich, elite, foundation either!).
Here is the news (thanks to Joanne) from USA Today (article starts out with the inaccurate story about the toddler who had been safe in Turkey, but who died because his Dad wanted new teeth in Europe which they never tell you!). That opening tells you all you need to know about the spin this new website will put on the news!
And so Tuesday, March 15, will mark the debut of Refugees Deeply, the latest in Setrakian’s string of immersive single-topic websites.
There are an estimated 60 million refugees in the world, many forced from their homes by unrelenting violence.
“Every country is dealing with this, from America to Australia,” says Setrakian, a former foreign correspondent for ABC News and Bloomberg TV. “But they are in their own little bubble.” Refugees Deeply hopes to play a role in the search “for long-term solutions,” Setrakian says. “How do we make sense of it?”
And solutions, she believes, are essential. [We’ve got solutions!—ed]
[….]
In a sense Refugees Deeply, which is being supported by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, seems like an organic outgrowth from Setrakian’s debut project, Syria Deeply, which launched in 2012 to rave reviews. The brutal civil war there has forced many to flee in search of safety.
But, Setrakian points out, “Syria is just the tip of it. It’s happening in Asia, Africa, Latin America. Sixty to 70% are not from the Middle East. There are a lot of places the refugee crisis is unfolding, and we never hear of it.”
Yes, we know this:
The Deeplies have found that their model of obsessive single-topic coverage resonates with people with a strong interest in that single topic. The idea for each one, Setrakian says, is “to be the centerpiece for that microcommunity” and “to turn a news site into a buzzing hive of activity.”
Watch for it! We can’t wait!