How a News Site Is Bridging the Gap Between the US and its Territories

Yours truly recently sat for an interview with Claire Healy for U.S. News and World Report about the work we do at Pasquines, aiming to bridge the gap between the United States and its territories. The interview covers the inspiration behind the starting of our organization and how we aim to address coverage issues with the US territories.

Some 3.5 million Americans cannot vote for the president who represents them; nor can their representatives in Congress vote for policies affecting their constituents. One news organization is working to make sure issues in the five United States territories with permanent residents – Guam, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands – echo through the halls of Congress.

Founded in 2013 by William José Vélez González, a Puerto Rican native and former national executive vice president of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association, Pasquines is an online publication focusing on ending the disconnect between the United States and its territories. Drawing the name from the term used to describe political flyers plastered around Puerto Rico, the publication hopes to highlight the conditions of the territories with the same persistence as Puerto Rico’s pasquinesflyers.

In an interview with U.S. News and World Report, González describes how he created Pasquines as both a resource for policymakers, and a model for a more inclusive American journalism. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

For the context of islands.