By Kaitlin Candelaria
Presidential elections are exactly a year away, and with them comes a constant barrage of Facebook posts, political propaganda and heated conversations.
In this day and age, it can be hard to determine fact from fiction; bias seems to run rampant in the media and people tend to take what they read online as truth. Apryl Marie Fogel wanted to do her part toward changing that when she moved to Birmingham two and a half years ago.
Fogel, who worked as a political consultant in Washington, D.C., for a decade before relocating to Mountain Brook, wanted to create a source of middle-of-the-road information where people, especially women, could go to get information about the happenings in their local, state and federal governments.
“The big thing to me especially for women in our generation is to know that these issues all matter to them,” Fogel said. “(Women) aren’t single issue voters, which is how we’ve historically been perceived. We have mothers that stay home and mothers in the work force and mothers that do both, so ALToday.com provides easy content with a focus on women in politics, business and philanthropy.”
Although Fogel puts a focus on women, content on Alabama Today covers everything from the debate over bringing Uber to Birmingham to the Hillary Clinton/Benghazi hearings.
“I think it’s very important that, because we live in such a digital age, that people have a place to go that’s somewhat local-centered,” Fogel said. “You’re not going to go to our site and roll your eyes, you’re going to go get information that’s relatable to you and other people that live in Alabama.”
The Alabama Today site includes articles from the Associated Press and freelance reporters, along with guest columnists from around the state. Fogel said that, although she aims for an objective news report, she also welcomes opinions from both sides of the political spectrum. She said she’d like to change the idea that it isn’t polite to discuss politics in mixed company. She and her boyfriend are on opposite ends of the political spectrum and often enjoy debating issues and candidates, she said.
“People ask me how I can be in a relationship with someone with such different values, but I don’t avoid those conversations or those tough questions because being able to challenge one another and respect one another and respect the process is important,” she said. “The thing with politics that people don’t realize is that there is a domino effect. There’s no necessarily right or wrong answer. It’s about striking a balance.”
Balance is exactly what Fogel hopes to provide for women who want to get more involved in politics. By providing fair and unbiased information, Fogel said, she hopes to encourage more women to be involved in politics and to consider political careers. She also hopes that people will use her site to become more informed on local and state politics, as opposed to voting only in presidential elections.
“Part of (the problem) is there’s so much going on in life that you’re almost oblivious to these things that affect you every day,” she said. “It may not affect you that driver’s license offices or parks are closing in counties that you don’t live in. But you have to look beyond the talking points.
“We have a generation that gets involved in the hot button fights like abortion and gun control and minimum wage – but then they turn a blind eye to the things that make their utility bills go up and their grocery bills go up, because the other issues get more press and are sexier.” ϖ
