OpenPen is the brain child of Janet Meek, former East Tennessee Coordinator for the Tennessee Democratic Party and founder of the independent Democratic Resource Center in Johnson City.

Janet has worked tirelessly for progressive government and politics for years, and her latest venture is a new, non-partisan approach to citizen journalism and alternative online media.

Formed in February of this year, OpenPen Media "was created for residents of eastern Tennessee and its surrounding regions to address their concerns and voice their opinions as well as address the lack of relevant local news."

OpenPen already has an impressive list of editors and contributors and the content bears this out. Founding board member and web designer Chris Theis has done an outstanding job on the site design and layout which is crisp, professional, and easy to navigate.

Be sure to check out OpenPen, put it on your blogroll, and help spread the word. The OpenPen RSS feed is here.