Wikipedia

States Newsroom

(Redirected from Virginia Mercury)

States Newsroom is a left-leaning nonprofit news organization with outlets or partner outlets in all 50 U.S. states.[2][3] It was founded to attempt to fill a void in local journalism, especially when it came to reporting about state policy and politics.[4] Each Bureau is run independently and allows its articles to be republished for free under a creative commons license by other news organizations, if properly attributed.[5][2][4] Opinion pieces are clearly labeled and are not from candidates or political officeholders. They lean left but also include perspectives from the right[citation needed] with almost no interference from the national office, beyond the mandate to cover state politics and policy.[2]

States Newsroom
Formation2019
Type501(c)3[1]
Subsidiaries39
Affiliations11
Budget (2024)
$22 million
Staff
220 (2024)
WebsiteOfficial website Edit this at Wikidata
"Virginia Mercury" redirects here. For the flowering plant, see Acalypha virginica.

Newsrooms

edit

The newsrooms under the States Newsroom umbrella include:[6]

  • Alabama Reflector[7]
  • Alaska Beacon
  • Arizona Mirror
  • Arkansas Advocate
  • Colorado Newsline
  • Florida Phoenix[8]
  • Georgia Recorder
  • Idaho Capital Sun
  • Indiana Capital Chronicle
  • Iowa Capital Dispatch
  • Kansas Reflector
  • Kentucky Lantern
  • Louisiana Illuminator
  • Maine Morning Star
  • Maryland Matters
  • Michigan Advance
  • Minnesota Reformer[9]
  • Missouri Independent
  • Daily Montanan
  • Nebraska Examiner
  • Nevada Current
  • New Jersey Monitor
  • NC Newsline[10]
  • New Hampshire Bulletin
  • North Dakota Monitor
  • Ohio Capital Journal
  • Oklahoma Voice
  • Oregon Capital Chronicle
  • Pennsylvania Capital-Star
  • Rhode Island Current
  • Source New Mexico
  • South Carolina Daily Gazette
  • South Dakota Searchlight
  • Tennessee Lookout
  • Utah News Dispatch
  • Virginia Mercury
  • Washington State Standard
  • West Virginia Watch[11]
  • Wisconsin Examiner[12]

Partners

edit

History

edit

It began as a sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, a left-leaning nonprofit that does not disclose its donors, though Hopewell did not fund the project.[13][14][15] In 2019, it spun off to become its own non-profit. States Newsroom grew out of NC Policy Watch, a progressive think tank in North Carolina founded in 2004 by Chris Fitzsimon, who is now States Newsroom's director and publisher.[9][16]

In December 2021, States Newsroom announced plans to nearly double its presence from 25 states to 40 states.[4] The organization reported raising $10 million in 2020. States Newsroom had anticipated revenue of more than $27 million by the end of 2021.

In 2023, the Pew Charitable Trusts transferred its Stateline news service to States Newsroom with $3 million to help with the transition. The merger will allow the newsrooms to more easily compare ways that different states are responding to similar challenges.[13]

As of 2024, it reported having 220 full-time employees, with an annual budget of more than $22 million.[2] It grew from five affiliates upon its 2019 launch to 39 freestanding newsrooms at 11 partner outlets covering all 50 states by early 2024.[2] States Newsroom accepts no corporate donations and publicly shares the sources of all contributions above $1,000.[2][17]

Reception

edit

In July 2020, the 16 newsrooms of States Newsroom were included but then removed from a map created by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism of "hyperpartisan sites... masquerading as local news." States Newsroom's national editor successfully argued to Nieman that the funding model was much more transparent and that many staffers for the group are longtime journalists.[18][19]

In 2021, NewsGuard said State Newsroom's journalism had been "bought by people with a political agenda", a charge States Newsroom has rebutted.[20] A 2024 study by NewsGuard continued to categorize State Newsroom as a partisan-backed outlet designed to look like an apolitical one, which State Newsroom disputed and noted their collaborations with ProPublica and the New York Times in addition to the 'hundreds of awards' their newsrooms have received.[17]

Pew described nonprofit newsrooms, including States Newsroom, as being launched to fill a gap in legacy media, with nonprofit news outlets employing twenty percent of statehouse reporters in 2022.[21]

States Newsroom's outlet in Alabama, the Alabama Reflector, was a finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary.[22] Brian Lyman of the Alabama Reflector was recognized "For brave, clear and pointed columns that challenge ever-more-repressive state policies flouting democratic norms and targeting vulnerable populations, written with the command and authority of a veteran political observer."[23]

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "States Newsroom - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Joseph, Cameron (April 5, 2024). "This nonprofit has newsrooms in all 50 state capitals. Is it the future of state journalism?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved April 5, 2024.
  3. ^ Kobin, Billy (August 3, 2023). "Maine's latest newsroom will add to growing ideological media landscape". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Izadi, Elahe (December 6, 2021). "The troubling new void in local journalism — and the nonprofits trying to fill it". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Fu, Angela (February 25, 2021). "Where state and local coverage are actually expanding". Poynter. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  6. ^ "Affiliates". States Newsroom.
  7. ^ Hitson, Hadley (May 26, 2023). "Alabama Reflector joins Montgomery mediascape, boosting coverage of state politics, policy". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Smith, Adam (July 5, 2018). "Welcome a new news outlet to Tallahassee". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  9. ^ a b Borzi, Pat (January 14, 2020). "The Minnesota Reformer has launched. So what the hell is the Minnesota Reformer?". MinnPost. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  10. ^ "States Newsroom Relaunches NC Policy Watch as NC Newsline". States Newsroom. April 3, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  11. ^ "West Virginia Watch to launch statewide news outlet". The Register-Herald. July 7, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  12. ^ Rickert, Chris (January 4, 2020). "With 2020 in sight, dark-money sites look to distribute their versions of the news". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d Scire, Sarah (March 8, 2023). "Pew's Stateline finds a new home with nonprofit States Newsroom". Nieman Lab. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  14. ^ Barrett, Malachi (November 9, 2019). "News Websites with Political Ties Spread Across Michigan". www.governing.com. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  15. ^ Massoglia, Anna (May 22, 2020). "'Dark money' networks hide political agendas behind fake news sites". OpenSecrets.
  16. ^ Rickert, Chris (January 4, 2020). "With 2020 in sight, dark-money sites look to distribute their versions of the news". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Fischer, Sara (June 11, 2024). "Dark money news outlets outpacing local daily newspapers". Axios. Retrieved June 12, 2024.
  18. ^ Shumway, Julia (July 24, 2020). "Partisan groups spend big to deliver 'news'". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  19. ^ Mahone, Jessica; Napoli, Philip (July 13, 2020). "Hundreds of hyperpartisan sites are masquerading as local news. This map shows if there's one near you". Nieman Lab. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  20. ^ Vogel, Kenneth P.; Robertson, Katie (April 13, 2021). "Top Bidder for Tribune Newspapers Is an Influential Liberal Donor". The New York Times. Retrieved April 14, 2021.
  21. ^ Schearer, Elisa (April 5, 2022). "Total Number of U.S. Statehouse Reporters Rises, but Fewer Are on the Beat Full Time". Pew Research Center. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  22. ^ Demarco, Marisa (May 7, 2024). "Pulitzer Board recognizes Alabama Reflector editor in commentary category". Iowa Capital Dispatch. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "Finalist: Brian Lyman of the Alabama Reflector". The Pulitzer Prizes.
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=States_Newsroom&oldid=1239483764"