She's back! Janice Ellis' RiseUp goes digital
RiseUp, the ill-fated newspaper insert devoted to matters of diversity, has found new life on the Web.
Five stories went live today on RiseUp's new online home. The magazine's mission is "to engage the American public in a conversation about race, ethnicity, and culture, in order that we might come to a greater understanding of and respect for each other."
Janice Ellis, who ran for mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, in 2007, founded and publishes RiseUp. Prior to running for mayor, Ellis headed the local nonprofit Partnership for Children.
For Ellis, the transition from administrator to publisher has been awkward at best.
The print version of RiseUp appeared in Sunday newspapers across the country for only six weeks. The economic downturn and modern challenges of newspaper publishing were blamed for the product's short life.
Writers and newspaper groups went after Ellis for money after RiseUp ceased publication. The plaintiffs included The Kansas City Star, which filed a claim seeking $2.2 million.
The new online version of RiseUp is being published by a business Ellis incorporated earlier this year. Initial stories describe what it's like to be Hawaiian ("When most people think of the Aloha spirit, they think golden sand beaches...) and a 487-word assessment of new GOP chairman Michael Steele.
If e-publishing doesn't work out, Ellis could always run for mayor again. One of her campaign's billboards continues to loom over midtown.
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