2022-2023

The Dallas Morning News

Founded in 1885, the Dallas Morning News is Texas’ leading news organization and is the winner of nine Pulitzer Prizes. It has one of the largest newsrooms in the Southwest. In 2015, the DMN was in the first group of news organizations to go through a digital transformation initiative known as Table Stakes, launched by the Knight Foundation and Temple University. Since then, the DMN has been a leader in digital innovation among local news organizations. The News’ mission is “making our communities stronger and more prosperous through quality journalism and innovative marketing solutions.”

The News & Observer

The News & Observer’s roots go back to 1865, when its predecessor The Sentinel was launched to expose corruption in the Reconstruction era. Among the News & Observer’s many awards are three Pulitzer Prizes, including the 1996 gold medal for public service. The News & Observer is the paper of record in the capital city of North Carolina, covering the statehouse, the legislature and its impact on the lives of all North Carolinians. The newspaper’s mission is to produce fearless and independent public service journalism that gives a voice to underrepresented, unheard groups and communities.

Ledger-Enquirer

The Ledger-Enquirer is a digital-first, daily local newspaper based in Columbus, Ga., focused on bringing our community engaging and actionable news. We are composed of a small but dedicated crew of journalists. Our veteran journalists are the foundation of our newsroom with valuable contacts built up from years of reporting, the ability to write on any topic in a thorough and accurate fashion and institutional knowledge of our practices and standards. With deep community ties, these reporters have earned first place in recent Georgia APME awards in beat reporting, non-deadline reporting and education coverage. Our younger journalists are all skilled across multimedia forms and often have things to teach their more veteran counterparts. They lift the newsroom spirit, challenge the status quo and ask questions about the community that have long been glossed over. Each day, we focus on sharing fresh content with our readers in the form that best suits them — be it our website, social media platforms or print products.

Tampa Bay Times

The Tampa Bay Times is the largest newspaper in Florida, with a rich, award-winning history of investigative, narrative and enterprise journalism. We have 120 journalists covering three counties and the state of Florida. That includes reporters and editors across news, investigations, enterprise, features, sports and digital. Our ownership structure is unique in journalism, preserved by our late visionary owner, Nelson Poynter. He bequeathed the newspaper to a school for journalists here in St. Petersburg, now known as the Poynter Institute, to protect our independence. We take that independence very seriously, focusing our resources on distinct, exceptional reporting. Our mission as a news organization traces back to our founding in 1884: to report the truth and contribute to an informed society. That mission depends on maintaining our credibility within the community. Poynter said it best in 1961: “When we turn to history we can draw inspiration from those who risked their necks and their economic lives to keep the free press free. Every year newspapers are cited for Pulitzer prizes and other awards in recognition of spectacular crusades and courage. But we have an even greater daily triumph of American journalism in helping to fulfill less spectacular but imperative needs. Without these self-government cannot endure.”

WITF

WITF is a public media organization, based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We have a history of serving a 19-county region (nearly one-third of the state’s population) that dates back more than 50 years. We have been a leader in establishing collaborative projects and content verticals with other Pennsylvania public media organizations. WITF is a multimedia organization that delivers content to our regional audience online and on-air through our radio and television stations and website. The station’s content verticals include PA Post, Transforming Health and StateImpact Pennsylvania.  

KCAW

KCAW serves Sitka and seven other communities, from Yakutat to Port Alexander — roughly the same distance between Washington, DC, and Columbus, Ohio. However, for those communities outside of Sitka, there is no other media source, and limited and unreliable internet. KCAW is the sole source of information about everything: from weather and tsunami warnings, to presidential elections.  

VTDigger.org

VTDigger is a nonprofit daily news organization dedicated to watchdog reporting on Vermont institutions, businesses and government. Its mission is to produce rigorous journalism that explains issues, holds government officials and entities accountable and engages Vermonters in democratic processes. The staff produces in-depth stories on health care, politics, business, criminal justice, the environment and education.  

The Kansas City Beacon

The Kansas City Beacon is a non-profit online news outlet focused on in-depth journalism in the public interest. It launched in March 2020 and is part of The Beacon, a regional nonprofit news network serving Kansas and Missouri. Beacon stories are revelatory, contextual, data-driven and solutions-driven. Our reporting centers around issues in healthcare, education, economics, environment and civic engagement.

WYSO Public Radio

WYSO is the only National Public Radio affiliate station in the Dayton, Ohio, area. The station also does local and state news along with public affairs programming and news specials. WYSO station began broadcasting in 1958 as a student-run station on the campus of Antioch College. Today, it belongs to the community, with oversight from a seven-member board of directors comprised of community leaders. It reaches 14 counties in southwest Ohio.

Cincinnati.com / The Enquirer

Founded in 1841, The Enquirer publishes primarily via the Cincinnati.com website, the Cincinnati.com app and a daily newspaper. Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting, The Enquirer is part of the Gannett-owned USA Today network. The local news site covers seven counties in the Greater Cincinnati region, maintains a two-person bureau in the statehouse bureau and serves as a primary source for investigative and watchdog journalism in the region.