Sometimes when there’s a hot button topic in the news, bloggers can be afraid to cover it. But not The Shriver Brief. For the writers there, sticky subjects like poverty and community justice are just another day on the blog.
“The goal is to be starting a dialogue,” said Michelle Nicolet, who serves as the blog’s editor. “And we definitely get people reacting to that position, whether they’re being supportive or not so supportive. But [not supportive] is ok too, because part of the purpose is to stimulate dialogue and propose solutions to these problems.”
The Shriver Brief aims to combat issues relating to poverty, and has covered everything from Ferguson to criminal justice reform to climate change. It may sound like a lot, but for the writers at the blog it’s a reflection of the complicated issues they see everyday in their work with The Shriver Center, whose core mission is to advance the laws and policies that secure justice to improve the lives and opportunities of people living in poverty. Their goal is to create programs, policies, and legal precedents that advance justice and opportunity, especially for those affected by poverty.
“I think, because of our mission, we feel we have a responsibility to be in the public square with things like Ferguson,” said Nicolet. “We try to be responsive to stories in the news that are in our wheelhouse, because of the people who we serve. We’re using it as a sort-of soapbox to talk about advocacy work, and some of the solutions we’re proposing at a state and national level.”
Though she says they haven’t always been as nimble in their response time to news events as they are now. When they first started out in 2009, they knew that promoting themselves and their advocacy work, in particular, on the web was an important step. They were already experimenting with social media like Twitter, Facebook, and email newsletters, but blogging was a whole different ball game.
Nicolet describes the initial days like “herding cats;” it was a different writing environment for all parties involved, and they had multiple authors contributing to their blog. But before too long they figured out their own rhythm. And with that rhythm has come many discussions about how the center wants to present itself and the opinions of its advocates within that organization.
“It’s a bit of a struggle at first, but one of the good things about having everyone write for a blog is that it forces everyone in the advocacy team to align, on some level…[and if there’s disagreement] then we have to have that internal conversation on the issue,” said Nicolet.
Which is good, because The Shriver Brief team has no plans on holding back or slowing down. They represent a multi-issue advocacy organization that’s working on several fronts to attack poverty, and Nicolet notes that poverty is a complicated problem, and people who are living in poverty often have multiple, overlapping issues affecting their lives. With the blog, The Shriver Brief hopes to give consideration to all parts of the dialogue around poverty and the problems around it.
Of course like anyone they hope their blog reaches a wider audience than just their clients and peers, but staff at The Shriver Brief are aiming higher. They hope their blog can add a valuable voice to the conversation, because they are excited about creating a broader discussion on the issues surrounding poverty.
“We’re really using this blog as a bully pulpit,” laughs Nicolet. “We’re not using it as much to inform and draw clients to the organization [as much as] we’re constantly trying to engage people, let them know what’s happening, and how these things affect people.”
And they recognize the unique voice they can bring to discourse: they’re just one of many in a network of legal services providers who are working on the ground across the country with low income clients, and they’re dealing directly with people who are at the center of these issues.
“We’re really inside the sausage making factory of policy affecting people living in poverty,” said Nicolet. “So I think we’re really solidly in that niche, and reflecting those problems that are being brought to legal aid attorneys all over the country, and proposing some solutions to those problems and how that all is arising in communities that are affected.”
It can be easier said than done, continues Nicolet. Just because bloggers are more accustomed to the writing style, doesn’t mean they don’t need an editor there to translate their legal jargon to the masses–they are aiming for the general public’s attention, of course. But it’s still one of her favorite parts of the whole process.
“Working with the folks here and taking their sometimes inside-Baseball, wonky language and turning it into something that’s more approachable and digestible for a broader audience and then getting to see that resonate is great,” says Nicolet. “You get to see stuff resonated with an audience and you know you made somebody think, and that’s cool.”