Relaunching Atlanta’s E-Bike Rebate Program; Two Georgia news websites push partisan messaging

On today’s “Closer Look with Rose Scott,” the city of Atlanta is investing $1 million into the second round of its e-bike rebate program. That funding will provide vouchers up to $1,600 for Atlanta residents to purchase their own e-bike from one of eleven local bike shops. It’s estimated this will put another 600 e-bikes on city streets to help alleviate local traffic and improve mobility options for residents. The city is accepting applications from September 8th through September 22nd. Atlanta City Councilmember Matt Westmoreland and Propel ATL advocacy manager Jeremiah Jones joined “Closer Look” to discuss the success the program is already seeing and how it will be operated for its second group of applicants.   Also on today’s show, we speak to Capitol Beat reporter Ty Tagami about his recent story, “New partisan-linked Georgia sites mix news with divergent political messages.” In his piece, Tagami focuses on two new Georgia websites, “Courier Georgia” and “Peach State Post,” which publish news from other outlets as well as their own articles. However, Tagami found both sites push partisan messaging that some find misleading or flat out wrong. Tagami discusses the influence of these websites and the challenges they create for credible and fair news outlets.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.