A Civics Website Aims To Extend Its Educational Reach

As people call for more and better civics education in this country, a national civics engagement website is ready to launch a new state based initiative.

In fall of 2020, A Starting Point was launched by its founders, actor/producer Mark Kassen, techno-entrepreneur Joe Kiani, and Marvel Cinematic Universe star Chris Evans.

ASP has focused on getting content out, particularly to the younger audience, and without the steady helping of hyperbole and fiery conflict that often comes through traditional media. On the website, visitors can see elected officials provide simple, straightforward explainers about the issues of the day. Currently one can visit the site and see Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) talk about preparing for retirement or Dean Phillips (R-MN) address opioid overdoses in school, and a host of other topics, from sea turtles to concert ticket prices to child care for working parents.

In a phone interview, Kassen told me “People want direct information from elected officials,” and the website provides that without commentary or flash (most of the videos are made, selfie-style, at the lawmakers’ desk).It’s professional, but focused on content, not flashy format.

So far ASP has been focused on federal lawmakers, but ASP is expanding, and on Tuesday, they announce a new initiative called State of Play, which will extend their nonpartisan educational content efforts to the state level.

Kassen shared that there has been an overwhelming demand from their current users for more information from state lawmakers. “Most of the causes and effects of policy are at the state level,” he pointed out, citing as an example how, after the end of Roe v. Wade, abortion is now an issue decided within states.

At the same time, access to local news has been gutted. Some local papers have been cut to the bone; Alexandra Bruell, writing for the Wall Street Journal, highlights a Northwestern University study that found 2.5 newspapers disappearing in the U.S. every week. The Pew Trust warns that of the country’s 3,143 counties, 2,000 have no daily paper.

Meanwhile, Kassen points out, younger Americans are getting their new on line, through apps and social media. The goal remains to get the information to them where they are, and to help feed the desire for information free of heated rhetoric, from a reliable and consistent source.

There are challenges. “The biggest issue,” said Kassen, “is we’re small.”

Enter the National Conference of State Legislatures.

NCSL is an association of state legislators and legislative staff. CEO Tim Storey told me, “We are steadfastly nonpartisan. We don’t take positions. We are an information clearing house.” The organization exists to support the legislative institutions. “We truly believe that problems are being solved at the state and local level.”

Storey adds that “the vast majority of policy makers are not bomb throwers trying to get a viral video.”

“People want information from their elected officials,” says Kassen.

“Legislators want to get information out to people in new ways,” says Storey.

The team up seems like a natural fit for two organizations with a similar purpose and mission.

ASP has demonstrated a real skill for creating resources that students and civics teachers can actually use. It specializes in raw information without packaging, without dealing with the political media as an intermediary or without arguing for a specific viewpoint. There is a balance in the folks represented; one sign of ASP’s skill at their mission is the large number of elected officials who voluntarily participate.

Kassen says that other partnerships are in the works for ASP. They also anticipate adding subject matter experts to the legislator mix. With State of Play, they hope to provide a nonpartisan and neutral resource to learn about state politics from multiple viewpoints, and their track record suggests they can do it.

Slowly but surely ASP is building a new way to bridge the space between young citizens who are looking for information and the officials who are looking for ways to share it. If the result is better-informed citizens and more accountable elected officials, that can’t be a bad thing.