States Newsroom

Last updated
States Newsroom
Formation2019
Type 501(c)(3) [1]
84-2113822
President
Chris Fitzsimon
Subsidiaries 39
Affiliations11
Budget$22 million (in 2024)
Staff220 (2024)
Website statesnewsroom.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

States Newsroom is a nonprofit news network in the United States. Its newsrooms focus mostly on state politics. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Contents

States Newsroom grew out of NC Policy Watch, a progressive think tank founded in 2004 by Chris Fitzsimon, who said it "is sort of the model for the news sites we support". [7] [8] He is States Newsroom's current president. In 2017, the project expanded, using the liberal group the Hopewell Fund as an incubator until 2019 when States Newsroom became an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit. [9] [10] [2]

Organization

States Newsroom provides funding, human resources, and digital support to journalists in the state newsrooms. [11] It typically has 4-6 journalists per newsroom [2] and allows its articles to be republished for free under a creative commons license. [11] [2] [3]

States Newsroom accepts no corporate donations and has publicly shared the names of all donors contributing $1,000 or more since becoming a 501(c)(3) in 2019. [2] [6] [12] The progressive Wyss Foundation gave $1 million to States Newsroom in 2020. [13]

States Newsroom's commentary and opinion pieces are clearly-labeled and generally lean left. The organization does not allow opinion pieces from candidates or political officeholders. [2] [10] [3] Many, but not all, of the organization's larger donors also lean left. [2] States Newsroom did not disclose its donors until 2020, when it started disclosing the names of all donors giving more than $1,000 since becoming a 501(c)(3) in 2019. [9] In August 2020, Inside Philanthropy reported that Google was one of the funders of States Newsroom. [9]

In 2023, the Pew Charitable Trusts transferred its Stateline news service, which provides nonpartisan reporting on trends in state policy, to States Newsroom with $3 million to help with the transition. [10]

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]

Newsrooms

In July 2019, States Newsroom had 13 outlets, nine of which were in swing states. [8] As of 2024, States Newsroom had newsrooms in 39 states under its umbrella and the nationwide Stateline newsroom. In the other 11 states, States Newsroom syndicates content from independent nonprofit newsrooms such as CalMatters , [2] CT Mirror, [14] Honolulu Civil Beat , [2] Mississippi Today, [15] New York Focus, and the Texas Tribune . [2]

In May 2024, editor Brian Lyman of the States Newsroom's outlet in Alabama, the Alabama Reflector, was selected as a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. [16] [17] [18] [19] Lyman was recognized "[f]or 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." [20] [16]

Iowa Capital Dispatch was the first to report a lawsuit against a local Tyson pork-processing plant for work conditions during COVID-19. [21]

Reception

Given its history of "dark money" funding and left-leaning editorial boards, some have questioned the partisanship of States Newsroom's journalism. [8] [22] In January 2020, Steven Brill of NewsGuard asked States Newsroom to reveal their donors—which the organization did later that year. [23] [3] [9] But in 2021 after accepting a $1 million donation from the progressive Wyss Foundation, NewsGuard said their journalism was "bought by people with a political agenda". [13] A June 2024 NewsGuard study continued to categorize State Newsroom as a partisan outlet designed to look apolitical. [24] In June 2024, Axios called States Newsroom "one of the more strategic" of the "politically motivated websites masquerading as independent local news outlets." [6]

Other media watchers have disputed accusations of partisanship and noted the caliber of the journalists and relative autonomy from the national organization. In 2020, the Nieman Foundation for Journalism listed but then retracted adding the newsrooms as "hyperpartisan" in a map. [25] [26] In 2023, Nieman noted the experience of the journalists [10] and in 2024 called NewsGuard's depiction of States Newsroom "misguided." [19] In April 2024, Cameron Joseph wrote in the Columbia Journalism Review that the outlets "are nothing like the 'pink slime' organizations that pass off partisan propaganda as local news. Many of the journalists running the local newsrooms... had previously been at major state newspapers" and that reporters and editors were largely autonomous from the national operation. [2]

At a November 2020 press conference, Missouri Governor Mike Parson refused to take a question from a Missouri Independent reporter, saying "I am not going to respond to a c4 (nonprofit) out of Virginia that is absolutely a propaganda news agency." According to PolitiFact, the Missouri Independent is a legitimate news organization, a 501(c)(3), and "not a website peddling hoaxes." [5]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "States Newsroom - Nonprofit Explorer". ProPublica. May 9, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Joseph, Cameron. "This nonprofit has newsrooms in all 50 state capitals. Is it the future of state journalism?". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved August 12, 2024. While the news coverage strives to be balanced and nonpartisan, the sites' commentary section leans left.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Izadi, Elahe (December 6, 2021). "The troubling new void in local journalism — and the nonprofits trying to fill it". Washington Post. ISSN   0190-8286 . Retrieved August 12, 2024. States Newsroom formed two years ago to attempt to fill a void in what many government watchdogs and civil-society experts believe is one of the biggest manifestations of the local journalism crisis: the dire shortage of reporters covering state government.
  4. ↑ Robertson, Katie (October 7, 2022). "News on Statehouses, With a Twist: Covering All 50 at Once". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 12, 2024. States Newsroom, a network of nonprofit news outlets, now has a presence...
  5. 1 2 Skipworth, William (December 4, 2020). "Soros is not the mastermind behind Missouri Independent". @politifact. Retrieved August 14, 2024. The Missouri Independent is a news outlet that was founded in October in partnership with States Newsroom, a national nonprofit funded by grants, donors and readers. It has created nonprofit news organizations in 19 U.S. states.
  6. 1 2 3 Fischer, Sara (June 11, 2024). "Dark money news outlets outpacing local daily newspapers". Axios. Archived from the original on July 5, 2024. Retrieved June 12, 2024. These types of websites are often referred to as 'pink slime,' a term that originated in the ground beef industry. The term has been used for more than a decade to describe politically motivated websites masquerading as independent local news outlets... Some of the more strategic sites are run by groups that are more much explicit about their funding and motives, such as Courier Newsroom and States Newsroom.
  7. ↑ Borzi, Pat (January 14, 2020). "The Minnesota Reformer has launched. So what the hell is the Minnesota Reformer?". MinnPost . Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  8. 1 2 3 Rickert, Chris (January 4, 2020). "With 2020 in sight, dark-money sites look to distribute their versions of the news". Wisconsin State Journal . Archived from the original on April 24, 2020. Retrieved August 8, 2024. In addition to working in television news, States director and publisher Chris Fitzsimon founded a progressive think tank and the liberal news and commentary website NC Policy Watch, which he said is 'sort of the model for the news outlets we support.'
  9. 1 2 3 4 Scutari, Mike (August 19, 2020). ""Fill the Gaps." A Donor-Backed Outfit Aims to Reverse the Decline in Statehouse Reporting". Inside Philanthropy . Retrieved August 12, 2024. Donors listed include the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Google and the Wyss Foundation, but mostly individuals, along with 2,100 donations under $500 not listed.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Scire, Sarah (March 8, 2023). "Pew's Stateline finds a new home with nonprofit States Newsroom". Nieman Lab. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  11. 1 2 Fu, Angela (February 25, 2021). "Where state and local coverage are actually expanding". Poynter. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Supporters • States Newsroom". States Newsroom. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  13. 1 2 Vogel, Kenneth P.; Robertson, Katie (April 13, 2021). "Top Bidder for Tribune Newspapers Is an Influential Liberal Donor". The New York Times. Retrieved August 12, 2024. States Newsroom, a group of news sites based in state capitals, received $1 million from the Wyss Foundation last year. NewsGuard, a media watchdog that analyzes the credibility of news outlets, concluded that State Newsroom's journalism had been 'bought by people with a political agenda.'
  14. ↑ Pettit, Emelia (July 12, 2024). "Opinion: How Connecticut is leading the charge in sustainable wind energy". Yahoo News. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  15. ↑ Harrison, Bobby (July 5, 2024). "Mississippi judge blocks Biden attempt to ensure LGBTQ+ medical treatment • Nebraska Examiner". Nebraska Examiner. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  16. 1 2 Castillo, Amaris (May 6, 2024). "Small newsrooms won big in the 2024 Pulitzers". Poynter. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  17. ↑ "Pulitzer Prizes: 2024 Winners List". The New York Times. May 6, 2024. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  18. ↑ Shafiq, Saman. "2024 Pulitzer Prizes announced: See full list of winners, nominees". USA TODAY. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  19. 1 2 Benton, Joshua (May 7, 2024). "This year's Pulitzer Prizes were a coming-out party for online media — and a marker of local newspapers' decline". Nieman Lab. Retrieved August 13, 2024. (The finalist recognition for the Alabama Reflector, a States Newsroom site, must feel extra sweet, given that some still misguidedly label it and its siblings as so-called "pink slime" news sites.)
  20. ↑ "Finalist: Brian Lyman of the Alabama Reflector". The Pulitzer Prizes.
  21. ↑ Fu, Angela (February 25, 2021). "Where state and local coverage are actually expanding". Poynter. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  22. ↑ Sohm, Joseph (November 8, 2019). "News Websites with Political Ties Spread Across Michigan". Governing. Retrieved November 4, 2024. States Newsroom's ethics policy states its publications are nonpartisan. Fitzsimon said the editorial board is "on the liberal side," drawing a comparison with The New York Times.
  23. ↑ "States Newsroom Network". NewsGuard. January 29, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2024. While we respect NewsGuard's mission, we are concerned that as a for-profit startup they have adopted a flawed methodology that punishes innovative, fact-based organizations such as ours, while endorsing the work of outlets that promote conspiracy theories and white nationalism such as Breitbart, the Daily Caller, TheBlaze and FoxNews.com. We urge NewsGuard to update their methodology and use their platform to stand up for real journalism and hold those who spread hate and misinformation accountable.
  24. ↑ "Sad Milestone: Fake Local News Sites Now Outnumber Real Local Newspaper Sites in U.S". NewsGuard. Retrieved August 13, 2024.
  25. ↑ Shumway, Julia (July 24, 2020). "Partisan groups spend big to deliver 'news'". Arizona Capitol Times . Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  26. ↑ 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.
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