The Metro: Outlier Media’s new SMS service aims to address information gaps in Detroit

Outlier Media has a new and improved text service aiming to help residents get answers to essential questions. 

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Outlier Media Sarah Alvarez joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss how the TXT Outlier service is helping address information gaps about housing, utilities, and other critical community issues. 

Subscribe to The Metro on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Alvarez says while traditional news outlets across various mediums provide an essential service to the community, “radio segments and news articles are not always the most useful way to get information to people.”

“…and they’re certainly not personalized enough for people who are in some kind of information crisis,” she said. “So what would it look like, I thought, for a news service to really try to fill information and accountability gaps, and what would it take to do that well?”

The service — first launched in 2016 — allows residents to text Outlier keywords for additional information on related topics; or to talk directly with a reporter about a specific issue they might be facing.

Detroiters can take advantage of the service by texting “Detroit” to 67485. For more information, visit outliermedia.org/txt-outlier.

Use the audio player above to hear the full interview with Sarah Alvarez, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Outlier Media, at the 25:23 mark.

More headlines from The Metro on Sept. 11, 2024: 

• About a week ago, Gen Z Democratic Congressman Maxwell Frost toured Detroit and the state of Michigan to stump for Vice President Kamala Harris. During that time, Producer Sam Corey spoke with the Florida representative about the biggest concerns facing young people, and what will turn them out to vote in November.
• Pollution from trucks and factories — coupled with poverty — led the city to be named the third-worst place to live for people with asthma in a new report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. Allergy expert and native Detroiter Dr. Garen Wolff joined the show to talk about the report’s findings and what Detroiters can do to improve their air quality.
• The Funky Ferndale Art Fair is taking place Sept. 20-22. Director of the fair Mark Loeb joined the show to talk about what makes it unique.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 11 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.