States Newsroom

"Virginia Mercury" redirects here. For the flowering plant, see Acalypha virginica.

States Newsroom is a U.S. tax-exempt organization that serves as an umbrella organization for state-focused news outlets with progressive editorial outlooks. Launched in 2019, it began as a sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, a left-leaning nonprofit that does not disclose its donors.^[1][2] It grew out of NC Policy Watch, a progressive think tank in North Carolina founded by Chris Fitzsimon. Fitzsimon is States Newsroom's director and publisher.^[3]

States Newsroom had anticipated revenue of more than $27 million by the end of 2021. It grew from five affiliates upon its 2019 launch to 19 affiliates in 2020. States Newsroom planned to have more than 80 reporters on staff by the end of 2020.^[4] In July 2020, all the publications associated with States Newsroom were included in a resource created by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism purporting to show "hyperpartisan sites... masquerading as local news", but they were removed from the list after States Newsroom's national editor noted that the funding model is much more transparent and that many staffers for the group are longtime journalists.^[5][6]

The Wyss Foundation, founded by Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, has donated to States Newsroom. Media watchdog NewsGuard said State Newsroom's journalism had been "bought by people with a political agenda", a charge States Newsroom has rebutted.^[7]

In December 2021, States Newsroom announced plans to nearly double its presence from 25 states to 40 states. The organization reported raising $10 million in 2020. According to The Washington Post, "Their affiliates publish opinion pieces, much like newspapers' editorial pages, that largely lean left."^[8]

Affiliates

Affiliates of States Newsroom include:^[9]

• Alabama Reflector^[10]
• Alaska Beacon
• Arizona Mirror
• Arkansas Advocate
• Colorado Newsline
• Florida Phoenix^[11]
• Georgia Recorder
• Idaho Capital Sun
• Indiana Capital Chronicle
• Iowa Capital Dispatch
• Kansas Reflector
• Kentucky Lantern
• Louisiana Illuminator
• Maine Beacon^[12]
• Maryland Matters
• Michigan Advance
• Minnesota Reformer^[3]
• Missouri Independent
• Daily Montanan
• Nebraska Examiner
• Nevada Current
• New Jersey Monitor
• NC Newsline
• NC Policy Watch
• New Hampshire Bulletin
• Source New Mexico
• Ohio Capital Journal
• Oklahoma Voice
• Oregon Capital Chronicle
• Pennsylvania Capital-Star
• Rhode Island Current
• South Dakota Searchlight
• Tennessee Lookout
• Virginia Mercury
• Washington State Standard
• West Virginia Watch^[13]
• Wisconsin Examiner^[14]

References

1. Barrett, Malachi (November 9, 2019). "News Websites with Political Ties Spread Across Michigan". www.governing.com. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
2. Massoglia, Anna (22 May 2020). "'Dark money' networks hide political agendas behind fake news sites". OpenSecrets.
3. Borzi, Pat (14 January 2020). "The Minnesota Reformer has launched. So what the hell is the Minnesota Reformer?". MinnPost. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
4. Fischer, Sara (January 14, 2020). "Nonprofit States Newsroom will expand local news coverage to at least 20 new state capitals". Axios. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
5. Shumway, Julia (24 July 2020). "Partisan groups spend big to deliver 'news'". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
6. Mahone, Jessica; Napoli, Philip. "Hundreds of hyperpartisan sites are masquerading as local news. This map shows if there's one near you". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
7. Vogel, Kenneth P.; Robertson, Katie (13 April 2021). "Top Bidder for Tribune Newspapers Is an Influential Liberal Donor". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
8. Izadi, Elahe (December 6, 2021). "The troubling new void in local journalism — and the nonprofits trying to fill it". The Washington Post. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
9. "Affiliates". States Newsroom.
10. Hitson, Hadley (May 26, 2023). "Alabama Reflector joins Montgomery mediascape, boosting coverage of state politics, policy". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
11. Smith, Adam (July 5, 2018). "Welcome a new news outlet to Tallahassee". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
12. Piper, Jessica (21 October 2020). "The partisan sites fueling attack ads in the race between Susan Collins and Sara Gideon". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 22 October 2020.
13. "West Virginia Watch to launch statewide news outlet". The Register-Herald. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
14. Rickert, Chris (January 4, 2020). "With 2020 in sight, dark-money sites look to distribute their versions of the news". Wisconsin State Journal.

External links

• Official website
• Rickert, Chris (2020-01-01). . Wisconsin State Journal. madison.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 1 July 2021. States Newsroom Network response to NewsGuard ratings of States Newsroom websites