Verified News Network Announces Major Rebrand

By Crosswinds News Staff

(TVLSE, Okla.) A new season has arrived for Verified News Network (VNN).

After seven years of steady innovation and collaboration, the Native-owned, independent media organization VNN is embracing a powerful transformation, carried by the winds of change and guided by the same values that have grounded it since the beginning.

Read this story on Crosswinds News here.

This evolution marks the official rebrand of VNN into a “Talking Circle”, of which the VNN app will now fall under. Developed in 2018, the VNN app was a first-of-its-kind social news media platform. Social news media lovers will still be able to access news through the VNN news feed, as well as upload stories and interact with other collaborators. 

Under this new structure, the local newsroom formerly known as VNN Oklahoma will now carry the name Crosswinds News, still primarily Native-focused and Native-staffed, with multimedia journalists, community members, cultural advisors, and mission-aligned organizations leading the work. Its mission is to carry stories from Oklahoma’s 39 tribes, connecting Native families and allies from the heart of Indian Country.

“This rebrand is about honoring where we’ve been, acknowledging what we’ve become and creating space for what we’re becoming,” said Crosswinds News President and CEO Kelly Tidwell (Muscogee and Cherokee). “Talking Circle represents connection and relationship. Crosswinds represents culture, movement, and community. Together, they express everything our work has evolved into, as well as the very important work still to come.”

Crosswinds News will continue to be sustained in part through Talking Circle Solutions, formerly VNN Media Services, which provides paid marketing, education, consulting, and development services.

Community members will also have new ways to support the work of Crosswinds News, such as individuals having the opportunity to become paid subscribers and businesses and organizations having the opportunity to advertise on Crosswinds channels. Current paid subscribers and advertisers of VNN will be transitioned to Crosswinds News in the coming days.

“We have a lot of exciting things in the works,” said Crosswinds News Operations Manager and Senior Journalist Brittany Harlow. “They couldn’t be done without the community supporters and partners that have worked with us over the past several years. And they won’t reach their full potential without community and other ally support moving forward.” 

To learn more about Crosswinds News, click here.

To learn more about Talking Circle, click here.