The Washington, D.C., start-up news website with its sights clearly set on The Washington Post and its local news coverage being brought online by Politico.com founder Allbritton Communications Co. finally has a name.
And here it is: TBD.com.
A strong team has already been assembled and will continue to come together, but the name of this venture has been much anticipated.
The Washington Post reported the site’s name is derived from the concept of “reporting each element of a news story as it comes out on a 24-hour cycle, with the rest . . . As in, reporting the facts as they fall with the results.”
In a message posted on TBD.com, the explanation for the name is that it “is our commitment to be determined in every respect: determined to report news that’s important to our community; determined to develop a prosperous business model; determined to engage the community in our stories; determined.”
Here is more of the explanation about the name:
“. . . TBD will never be a finished product. On the web, on mobile devices and on our 24-hours cable news channel, we’ll always be in motion: constantly updating, improving and evolving; seeking more details, reaction or community conversation. We’ll be a place you visit to watch the news unfold in real time.
Traditional journalism says you answer the five W’s in a story: Who? What? When? Where? Why? We’ll answer them, but perhaps a couple at a time, with the rest TBD. We’ll be honest with our community about what we know and what we don’t know. We’ll tell you what questions we’re still pursuing and tell you how you can help us find the answers.
Even when the event is over, we hope to be a place where the conversation continues.
TBD fits our mission in another important way: Determination – always an important quality for journalists – is even more crucial for success as a startup business in the competitive field of digital news.”
I’m excited this finally has a name. Now it is just a waiting game for the site to actually launch and produce content.
As for the name, I think it is interesting. It isn’t something I would have chosen, but I think it works quite well, especially considering the rationale outlined on TBD.com.
Of course, something can be rationalized until the end of time. The best part of the name is the story told on TBD.com:
“In a mixture of humor and frustration, Editor Erik Wemple began signing his emails, ‘Editor, TBD.com.'”
That’s awesome.
