For inspiration on how to describe what we are looking to do at True Thirty, we turn, of course, to a children’s story: Goldilocks.

We turn the dial to one station, and the news is too far right. We move the dial to another station, and the news is too far left. 
 

What we want to do at True Thirty, is, well, you get the point.  
 

First, the name. 
 

True is simple enough yet, in 2022, elusive. Over the past five years – especially – the truth has become more slippery and, unfortunately, to many, unimportant. The avenging sword of false affects every facet of our lives from our politics to our science to the way discourse is shared. Sometimes it is merely annoying, maybe even laughable. Sometimes it’s deadly. 
 

There is no room for falsehood at True Thirty. There is no room because we don’t want it and because it has no resemblance to journalism as most of us have consumed it throughout our adult lives. 
 

Those of us who were reporters remember the pages at 2am from an editor needing to parse a word or a sentence or looking to confirm attribution of even mundane sections of a story. It was not fun being awoken from sleep or interrupted during last call. But we were fastened to and fascinated by the mission. 
 

We worked with editors who massaged Pulitzer Prize winning authors and their stories and knew that, frequently, those authors and stories were making the corner of the earth we covered better places. 
 

There is, simply, nothing in the world like it. 
 

That work is still being done today from the smallest journals to the august newsrooms of the titular New York Times. But sometimes, even in those august pages, there is compromise borne of today’s divisions. 
 

We often hear that we – any we – are only as strong as our weakest link. Journalism in 2022 is weakened by those who undermine everything the Fourth Estate at its best stands for. 
 

We are fond of – and you will hear about – slow journalism. Slow journalism is as simple as it sounds: it means taking the time to decide what we want to cover, why, when and how. We won’t spit things out quickly or irresponsibly. We’re not worried about our voice being heard constantly or loudly. 
 

And the Thirty part?
 

Well, anyone who has written for a news journal knows that a hyphen-30-hyphen is the last thing the editor sees below the story copy. It means ‘hey editor person, ball’s in your court, my work here is done.’
 

Well, until the 2am page or, today, cell phone call. 
 

We take that Thirty pretty seriously here. Done, to us, means thorough. It means every possible interview needed has been performed, every bit of research has been done and we’ve vetted a piece through our team of journalists before anything goes live. 
 

Our founder Joey Dumont – with 20 years experience as an ad executive - has compiled a team of writers and thinkers that together will create news stories that, alongside the True Thirty with Joey Dumont podcast will give our audience consumables to watch, listen to and read. As this is written, Joey is about to drop his 17th podcast and it's been a who’s who of today’s headlines: from critical race theory to abolishing/defunding the police, safe spaces and the danger of ideologies. 
 

We will publish two main stories a month on our Substack page and, collectively, do 80-100 hours of research per story. This will include investigative interviews, record requests, peer reviewed sources, white papers, online symposiums and debate platforms (Heterodox Academy, AEI, Intelligence Squared, Manhattan Institute), drafting and editing the content specific to each topic. 
 

And regardless of the leanings of any of us collectively or individually, we will lean on experts, academics, thought leaders and publications from both the left and the right. If a bias can be detected, it’s only because our homework has led us there. 
 

Today, we’re aware of the lunacy coming from the right AND the left. Our mission is to call out all of it. If we are deemed offensive to 30% of the population, we’ll know we’re doing our jobs. The way we see it, the lunacy is extremely dangerous to our republic regardless of the source. 
 

And could the stakes be higher? A pandemic, two years old and still going relatively strong. The wrestling ring that is Congress, stumbling drunken towards the midterm elections. Divisions seen everywhere from Washington D.C. to sports arenas to school board meetings. 
 

Where, how and when will it end? If it ends. 
 

At True Thirty, the stories/videos/podcasts we present are about news – true news through the lens of slow journalism – not winning a fight. They are about learning and polite discourse. Leave enragement news to others. It is not what we are or after. 
 

See you in the pages.
 

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