PhillyNow isn’t a traditional news blog. It has its own team of reporters and editors who provide a mix of commentary, aggregation and original reporting. PhillyNow explores popular and unpopular ideas alike. It aims to provide content to a demographic that may or may not be reading the Philadelphia Inquirer or the Daily News. It aims to provide content that, because of space limitations in those papers and others, has been left out.

Journalism is suffering from downsizing, outsourcing, buyouts and sell-outs. But those who can help keep Philly honest should. PhillyNow is committed to this goal because we believe it would be irresponsible to leave this task solely in the hands of our major dailies. We’re more interested in informing than competing.

Because citizens do not directly observe most politicians or political processes, the media have to be the windows into the world of city government. What citizens see through those windows will affect what they think about and how they think about it. This is why PhillyNow places great emphasis on the integrity of all city agencies and other private organizations that play a vital role in Philadelphia. We do this because a successful democracy depends largely on an informed public.

The bottom line: PhillyNow will bring you news and politics with an attitude, whether you like it or not.