Obscured is Kouvenda Media’s investigative journalism initiative. This nascent reporting endeavor addresses a need in our home state of Pennsylvania for long-form podcasts dedicated to telling underreported stories that unpack public policy outcomes, shortcomings and solutions with engaging, data-driven narratives.
We’re concerned that complex underreported issues—like the ones that we’re interested in investigating—risk being further compounded because lack of transparency and integrity are perennial problems in Pennsylvania, with corruption scandals playing out across the state at all levels of government. Think tanks, academic institutions and journalists have consistently documented these trends. During the past decade, the Commonwealth has fared poorly in multiple nationwide assessments for public access, government corruption and transparency and accountability.
Given Pennsylvania’s national significance and its chronic struggles with public corruption, we believe our work will benefit audiences in our state and beyond.
We are also interested in developing thoughtful and engaging public policy content for or with media outlets, particularly organizations grappling with cuts, re-organizations, resource reallocation and coverage gaps in news deserts.
Obscured will meet a need for a thorough long-form podcast that delves into and assesses public policy in Pennsylvania. Our reporting will:
- Explain root causes of an issue, with a particular focus on institutional structures, policies, decisions and, as warranted, underlying corruption and malfeasance
- Explore possible solutions
- Provide ways to take action around and learn more about the issue at hand
We also plan to cultivate rapport with our listeners through a substantive monthly newsletter that provides reporting updates, unique insights and analysis on key state issues and otherwise relevant content.
Kouvenda Media is uniquely positioned to create content that adds value to the media landscape. Learn more about our highly-specialized skill set, experience as public media journalists in the state and how we launched here.