The Progressive Teen’s 2022 Strategic Plan
Where We Started
As The Progressive Teen nearly celebrates its tenth year, we look back on our long legacy of fighting for progressive causes. Through dozens of articles and even more staff writers, TPT has become a staple of youth-led independent journalism, proving to the world that grassroots movements work— and they’re highly effective. Since our merger with The High School Democrats of America in January 2013, we have worked closely with our HSDA partners to ensure we approach activism with a two-pronged approach: the TPT handles the journalist side while HSDA specializes in the political aspect. Together, we have become an unstoppable powerhouse and in the coming years, we only expect our partnership and our achievements to grow exponentially.
Our work is long-term and strategic; we hold our organization to the highest journalistic values and seek to make an impact in our nation. We are always deepening our efforts and making improvements as the moment requires. As TPT has been inactive for some time due to extenuating circumstances, we welcome a new era of the TPT. This strategic plan will outline the goals of the coming years, ensuring accountability and transparency as we move forward.
Meet the New Co-Editors-in-Chiefs: Jorge Martinez & Sabrina Thaler
Jorge Martinez and Sabrina Thaler both have deep experience in grassroots organizing and reporting. As chief editors, we are beyond thrilled to be tasked with leading TPT into a brighter future and grateful to have such amazingly talented staff writers on our team.
We are both nerds at heart; the kids in English class who would never shut up or put their hands down. Writing is our life’s calling and to be able to do it everyday, all the while advocating for progressive causes, has become a dream come true for the both of us.
Prioritizing Staff Writers
We strongly believe that good writing cannot exist in a vacuum. TPT will strongly focus on supporting our staff writers, ensuring the growth of the whole person. Being a staff writer is not seen as an employee but rather as a learning experience; we all have areas of improvement and at the end of each term, we will strive for each of our staff writers to be able to confidently say they improved as a writer. While we certainly share the goals of increased readership and higher outreach, keeping our staff writers in the highest regard will bring along these goals in no time.
TPT will be investing heavily into advancement and enrichment initiatives throughout the term. We have several educational materials being prepared, and several more in development, to ensure our staff writers are equipped with the tools to produce quality content. This will take place throughout the term in the form of office hours, where a staff member is free to join and ask an editor-in-chief for extra support. This can also take the form of workshops, which will cover various topics a journalist may encounter, such as interviewing skills, ethical training sessions, and other areas for improvement. The editors-in-chief also adopted an open-door policy, where staff writers are constantly encouraged to reach out; we will always try our best to support staff writers in every step of the process, from drafting to publishing.
Partnering with Member Publications
To amplify the voices of local writers that the TPT may be unable to currently reach, we are committed to partnering with local publications across the country. This outreach effort is done through our HSDA networks. We will share resources with our partners, both on an organizational level and as chief editors. We also plan to re-publish select articles into our national platform, hoping to garner an increased audience and raise awareness on their local matter. We truly value our partnerships and we are currently working to partner with even more publications.
Whether a publication is already established or still in the process of getting started, we dedicate ourselves to providing our assistance in any way we can. We are in this fight together and we look forward to creating a wide scale network of partners nationwide.
Ethical Responsibility
We dedicate ourselves to the values of ethical journalism. Our chief editors, staff writers, partnerships, and other associates of TPT understand the core value of our organization: to seek the truth and report it. Journalists hold an extreme amount of responsibility and we expect our members to act accordingly. The Progressive Teen follows the Global Charter of Ethics for Journalists as established by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and we are committed to providing our readers with ethical journalism. Any violation of this code of ethics may result in disciplinary action in accordance with HSDA bylaws. As we move into future years, this is an unwavering promise we all take with the strongest of commitments.
Revitalizing TPT
Following our recent inactivity, the new chief editors thought it best to re-think TPT and imagine a new version. While our organization has undergone significant internal changes to revitalize TPT, such a drastic change needed a symbol to represent our newfound values moving forward. We have created a new logo with this in mind, and it is our sincere hope that this new rebranding demonstrates our commitment to a better tomorrow.
Overview of the Editorial Process
To ensure a streamlined process while maintaining the integrity of TPT, we are committed to ensuring each article has received two or three rounds of revisions before publication. The first round will mainly be focused on large scale issues, such as fact-checking, reviewing cited sources, and ensuring the compliance with our established code of ethics. The second and third rounds will be focused on editing for style and clarity, ensuring our articles provide a clear and effective argument with the strongest possible language. Each round of revisions may be reviewed by either one or both chief editors.
We are also committed to supporting our staff writers in every step of the writing process. We are committed to helping brainstorm, drafting, and providing effective feedback. The editorial process may take around a week or so, depending on the content of the article and any scheduling issues. The chief editors will oversee this process and ensure we are publishing in a timely and appropriate manner; we strive to publish once or twice a week. In partnership with the HSDA social media team, we also will strive to publicly advertise our articles to ensure our staff writers get the attention they deserve on their pieces.
Goals for the Upcoming Future
As chief editors, here is our commitment for this 2022-23 term:
Focus on staff writers. If we are able to get each staff writer to say they improved during their time at TPT, we can confidently say we have been successful as chief editors.
Increase staff writer recruitment efforts to reach around 50 staff writers, with each chief editor responsible for approximately 25 staff writers.
Increase TPT’s social media presence (while ensuring ethical compliance) to ensure increased readership.
Publish articles once or twice a week, creating a streamlined mechanism for submissions that future cohorts of TPT members can enjoy.
Partner with at least 5 member publications and frequently re-publish their selected works. Hold these partnerships in the highest regard and with a great deal of respect.
Host frequent training sessions, open to staff writers and the wider TPT community; everyone who wants to improve their skills is more than welcome to join.
We have high hopes for this term, and we are excited to get started. However, we acknowledge that our tenure as chief editors is limited and will soon be passed on to a new generation of TPT staff. Within the next few years, these are our goals we hope our fellow chief editors will follow:
Grow the TPT staff writers to reach 100 staff writers. This will most likely mean hiring more chief editors and/or assistant editors. It is our fervent hope that youth-led journalism be accessible to all, and we hope to build the necessary infrastructure to support such a large community
Partner with a local publication in every state, making for a total upwards of 50. Work with local HSDA chapters to establish deep ties with publications or support them in their work to found new ones. Create a new section in the TPT entirely dedicated to amplifying the voices of local partners.
Remain neutral in the political process and maintain our commitment to the code of ethics. This will allow us to remain timeless and an example for the world. Establish an ethical advisory board to oversee this aspect.
Move away from Medium when the time is right. We have high hopes for the future and such big aspirations require an even bigger website to support it.
Invest in multimedia reporting. Photojournalism, podcasting, and so much more; the possibilities are endless!
Become a force to be reckoned with. Become the New York Times of youth-led journalism.
Invest in on-the-field reporting. Equip staff writers with a microphone and a camera, and train them to safely report live.
Interview a presidential candidate. Extra points if that candidate is later elected as President.
Continue ensuring a safe and positive working environment. Never abandon these ideals no matter what.
Publish a strategic plan every term, similar to this one; public transparency is a virtue we must never forget.
We have a beautiful vision of what the future can hold, and we will do everything in our power to make this vision a reality. With the support of all our partners and friends, we resolve to usher in a new age for The Progressive Teen.
This is only the beginning.
Article was written by Co-Editor-in-Chief Jorge Martinez, with support from Co-Editor-in-Chief Sabrina Thaler and Communications Director Sohali Vaddula.