New America Media Spins Off Legacy Youth Programs — The Beat Within and Silicon Valley De-Bug

SAN FRANCISCO – Pacific News Service, dba New America Media, a pioneer in diversifying American journalism through youth media and ethnic media initiatives, as well as multilingual polls, announced that two of its legacy youth programs are launching as their own independent, nonprofit entities as of 2014.

PNS founded The Beat Within in 1996 as a writing workshop for detainees in San Francisco’s juvenile hall. Today The Beat oversees volunteers who run workshops in 25 detention facilities in 12 states from Hawaii to Washington, DC and prints a weekly publication of writing and art by over 800 detainees.

Silicon Valley De-Bug began in 2001 as a print ‘zine by, for and about young assembly line workers in San Jose’s then-burgeoning tech industry. Today, it has evolved into a national model for engaging community voices in civic affairs, including video profiles of indigent defendants that give family members and friends a formal platform to advocate on their behalf.

“We started these programs as journalists hungry to connect with youth cultures that were largely inaccessible to the media,” said PNS Executive Director Sandy Close. “Over the years, they outgrew their journalism mission and developed their own communication programs for connecting isolated populations to the broader community. We are proud that each is nationally recognized as a community based organization in its own right.”

“The Beat will be housed under the Youth Law Center as we transition to a national nonprofit organization,” said Beat Executive Director David Inocencio, “We will always see ourselves as part of the PNS-NAM family.”  Inocencio, who won the Jefferson Award for Public Service for his work with young people caught in the juvenile justice system, has overseen The Beat Within since its pilot workshop.

“De-Bug is excited to transition from being a NAM project to a partner with our own nonprofit status,” said De-Bug Executive Director Raj Jayadev. De-Bug is based in San Jose, where Jayadev worked as a labor organizer and assembly line worker before joining PNS. He won a Soros Justice Fellowship in 2010 and is recognized as one of the most influential emerging leaders in Silicon Valley.

“PNS-NAM has a tradition of cofounding and incubating projects, such as the nationally renowned Youth Radio and the award winning Chauncey Baily Project,” said PNS Board Director Lawrence Wilkinson. “Each reflects PNS’s continuing mission to diversify American journalism and communications in our increasingly fragmented society, to amplify the voices of America.”