New Online News Magazine
Reports Hope in Public Issues

ELLICOTT CITY, MD -- A new online news magazine seeking to report the hope of possible solutions to controversial social issues, will be launched on the Internet next week.

"Our goal is to provide an objective view of challenging issues like teenage pregnancy, assisted suicide, and genetic engineering, while at the same time suggesting ways people can become involved with organizations actively involved in seeking solutions," explained James E. Skillington, publisher of the new magazine.

Village Life is produced by Village Life Company, a nondenominational, not-for-profit corporation. It is currently in the final week of a month-long beta test and will officially launch Nov. 13.

Each week, Village Life will highlight a different social issue as its 'cover' story. In addition to the cover story, current human-interest news will also be reported. A column of news briefs will be updated daily.

Staff writers and freelance reporters will produce articles used in Village Life.

Unlike most news magazines published on the World Wide Web, Village Life does not have a printed or cable news version. "We seriously considered a traditional paper and ink publication," Skillington explains, "but we concluded by concentrating our efforts only on the Internet, we could best achieve our public service objectives."

Those objectives include reporting designed to suggest new perspectives to readers. "Our goal is not to advocate particular solutions to challenges in society today," Skillington explained. "but we hope that people who read our articles will want to become involved in becoming part of the solution."

To assist in the understanding of the issue, Village Life will provide annotated links to nonprofits that are actively involved in finding solutions.

But the magazine includes more than just news. Readers may express their opinions in Chat Forums and on occasional live "Village Meetings," that allows the Internet audience to ask questions directly of newsmakers.

Other regular departments include: value-based reviews of current movies, recent videos, and contemporary music; disaster response opportunities; and religious travel and retreats in the United States and Canada.

A religion section includes features on holistic health, personal witness, and little-known not-for-profit organizations actively involved in improving the lives of people.

The homepage for Village Life depicts a diverse and intergenerational village with icons of buildings and people. By clicking on an icon, or object, different "departments" of the site are accessed.

Skillington, an ordained United Methodist minister, is the former Director of Communications for the Baltimore-Washington Conference of The United Methodist Church. He is believed to be the first ordained clergyperson appointed to a full-time Internet ministry by a mainstream denomination.

Village Life Company received start-up grants from Bauman Bible Telecasts of Washington, D. C.; Xenon Laboratories Inc. of Toronto, Canada; Headlight.com of Frederick, Md.; and donations from churches and individuals. The corporation has no direct connection with any denomination except as a service provider.

The ministry is governed by a board of directors of lay and clergy persons. A diverse advisory council, with members from across the country, provides other expertise and counsel.

For more information, contact the ministry toll-free number at (443) 393-3330. Its email address is [email protected].