OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As it marks its tenth year, independent, award-winning local news organization Berkeleyside today announced that it is launching a new journalism platform in Oakland. The move coincides with Berkeleyside’s conversion to a new nonprofit organization whose mission is to deliver civic-minded local reporting for and with people and communities whose information needs have not traditionally been served by daily news outlets.
The as yet unnamed Oakland journalism platform, which will launch in spring 2020, will be dedicated to hard-hitting reporting that delves deeply into the city’s institutions and amplifies the voices of community stakeholders across the city.
Tasneem Raja, a trailblazer in nonprofit and community-led journalism and a former senior editor at NPR and Mother Jones, will lead the site as Editor-in-Chief.
The Oakland journalism platform is being launched with initial funding of $1.56 million from the Google News Initiative (GNI). This is the GNI’s third collaboration in its Local Experiments Project, which aims to develop new business, operational, and product practices to create sustainable local news business models. Google will have no input or influence on editorial decisions. The GNI’s other two partnerships are with McClatchy in the United States and Archant in the United Kingdom.
The American Journalism Project (AJP), a new, nonpartisan venture philanthropy organization dedicated to local news, is providing $1.56 million in funding for business, technology and fundraising capacity. The AJP team will also provide close strategic support to Berkeleyside’s new nonprofit and its Oakland news site to drive the organization’s focus on revenue and sustainability. Berkeleyside is one of the first civic news organizations (CNOs) to receive an AJP grant, as was also announced today.
“Building on what we have learned over 10 years at Berkeleyside, we intend to deliver independent, high-quality journalism to foster civic engagement, enrich people’s lives and contribute to a healthy democracy,” said Berkeleyside Co-Founder Lance Knobel. “Our Oakland news site will provide the accountability journalism and watchdog reporting that is at risk during a time of news cutbacks.”
The Oakland site will have eight editorial staffers, making it one of the largest newsrooms in the city.
“Oakland is where I relearned what it means to be a journalist, and reexamined journalism’s responsibilities in the communities we aim to serve,” said Editor-in-Chief Tasneem Raja. “I am honored and humbled by this opportunity to work with and learn from people who are invested in serving information needs across Oakland, holding harmful systems accountable, and reflecting the value of Oakland’s communities.”
In preparation for the launch of the Oakland journalism platform, the team has embarked on a community-centered listening process to learn more about the core issues that need more attention, the stories that need to be elevated, and how to best serve all Oaklanders through a responsive, inclusive and equitable approach to local journalism.
“We’ve been talking with a wide range of Oakland residents about how journalism in Oakland can be useful in their lives, their work and their communities,” said Raja. “From what beats to cover to the lens of our reporting, our goal is to design and build our platform in partnership with the people of Oakland.”
We’ll be sharing regular updates as we build this new platform and invite you to sign up to stay informed and learn about opportunities to get involved at: berkeleyside.com/oakland.
About Berkeleyside
Journalists Lance Knobel, Tracey Taylor and Frances Dinkelspiel founded Berkeleyside in Berkeley, California, in 2009. A pioneer in the field of online local journalism with a staff of seven, Berkeleyside is seen as a model for digital local news, having built up a highly engaged audience and a high level of trust in the community it serves. In 2016-18 Berkeleyside was the first news organization in the country to make a direct public offering. In doing so, it raised $1 million from its community of readers. To date Berkeleyside has operated as a for-profit benefit corporation. Now it is reorganizing as a nonprofit organization. The as yet unnamed nonprofit umbrella will provide business and editorial oversight, fundraising, technical and membership support to Berkeleyside, the new Oakland news site, and future sites it launches.
About Tasneem Raja
Tasneem Raja co-founded the East Texas local nonprofit journalism outlet The Tyler Loop, a nationally recognized leader in local journalism innovation and nonprofit news sustainability. Prior to that, Raja was the senior editor for NPR’s Code Switch, a team of reporters exploring race, power and identity in America, and was the senior editor of data journalism at Mother Jones. She was on the founding staff of The Bay Citizen and Oakland North, and lived in Oakland and Berkeley for the better part of a decade.
About Google News Initiative
The Google News Initiative represents Google's largest-ever effort to help journalism thrive in the digital age. Through its partnerships, programs and products, the Google News Initiative works with thousands of organizations worldwide to support quality independent journalism, financial sustainability, and development of new technologies that drive innovation. Google invested $300 million over three years to energize these collaborations, and to lay the foundation for new products and programs for a diverse set of news publishers, to benefit the entire ecosystem. This includes supporting thought leadership on topics like consumer revenue, advertising and data that are critical to the future of the news industry.
About American Journalism Project
The American Journalism Project (AJP) is a new venture philanthropy organization dedicated to local news. By providing transformative investments and close support to civic news organizations — local news organizations distinguished by their public service mission and commitment to meeting the critical information needs of communities – it is building a new public service media that is governed by, sustained by and looks like the public it serves. AJP has raised more than $46 million and announced its first grants on Dec. 10, 2019.
Media Contact
Lori Lefevre
Dadascope Communications
lori@dadascope.com
(917) 627-0803
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