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The Indiana Local News Initiative announced its launch Wednesday as a not-for-profit media organization planning to create newsrooms in Indianapolis and Gary.
With more than $10 million raised and the participation of civic leaders such as Penske Entertainment Corp. CEO Mark Miles and Women’s Fund of Central Indiana President Tamara Winfrey-Harris, the Indiana Local News Initiative said it intends to report nonpartisan information at no cost to its audience.
“This is public service journalism,” said Karen Ferguson Fuson, former publisher of The Indianapolis Star, who is serving as board chair of the new organization. “It’s ‘What do I need to engage in citizenship and democracy?’ ‘What do I need to live on a day-to-day basis?’”
The Indiana Local News Initiative is accepting applications for editor roles in Indianapolis and Gary at localnewsforindiana.org. A brick-and-mortar location is planned for the yet-to-be-named Indianapolis news operation.
The organization is a partnership between Indianapolis-based journalism, community and business leaders and the Washington, D.C.-based American Journalism Project. Ferguson Fuson said the American Journalism Project researched Indiana’s media landscape throughout 2021.
The research pinpointed underserved audiences in Marion County, Gary and rural communities throughout the state, she said. Possible hurdles for receiving news reports include subscription costs, lack of technology and language barriers.
“The initial discussion started with, ‘How do we protect democracy?’” Ferguson Fuson said. “Our steering committee believes boldly that a free press is critical to a free democracy. There’s a big gap in our state right now for local, boots-on-the-ground community journalism.”
In addition to Miles, Winfrey-Harris and Ferguson Fuson, the steering committee includes Rafael Sanchez, chief impact officer at Old National Bank; Myrta Pulliam, journalist and community leader; and Kevin Corcoran, veteran Indiana journalist and strategy director at Lumina Foundation.
Michael Ouimette, senior vice president of strategy and startups at the American Journalism Project, said 25 staff members are expected to be hired for the Indianapolis newsroom.
A five-member Gary newsroom will be overseen by Capital B, a not-for-profit news organization that serves Black communities. Gary will be Capital B’s second location, following Atlanta.
Other jobs facilitated by the Indiana Local News Initiative include two new positions at The Indianapolis Recorder, one of the longest-running Black publications in the United States.
“The initiative will support about three dozen new local journalism jobs by the end of 2023,” Ouimette said.
Ferguson Fuson said the Indiana Local News Initiative seeks to collaborate with existing media companies rather than compete. The organization’s roster of more than 10 news partners includes The Indianapolis Star, WISH-TV, WFYI Public Media and the Recorder. IBJ has not signed on as a partner.
“While Indy is among a shrinking number of markets that still has multiple news outlets with talented journalists, the sizes of many of these outlets are a fraction of what they were before, and a fraction of the size necessary to cover all of the things central Indiana residents say they want,” Ferguson Fuson said.
The Lumina Foundation, one of the Indiana Local News Initiative’s partners, is providing support to TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website authored by Franklin College journalism students, to make its content available for free to members of the Hoosier State Press Association. The website previously required newsrooms to pay a fee.
Lumina is among a group of local funders that include the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust, Herbert Simon Family Foundation, Myrta Pulliam, Lumina Foundation, John Mutz, Michael Arnolt, the Robert R. and Gayle T. Meyer Family Fund, Gene D’Adamo, Joyce Foundation and the Indianapolis Foundation, an affiliate of the Central Indiana Community Foundation. The American Journalism Project is also helping to fund the initiative.
The Indiana Local News Initiative plans to train and pay residents, known as “Indianapolis Documenters,” to attend public meetings and publish the results. The Documenters Network, overseen by not-for-profit media organization City Bureau, presently operates in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago and Cleveland.
Ferguson Fuson said central Indiana residents will find Indiana Local News Initiative content at its website and via email newsletters, with radio reports and SMS messaging expected to be in the mix.
“We want to meet the community where they are,” she said. “One of the opportunities we have [as a not-for-profit] is to innovate and invest in those last-mile distributions and real engagement at the community level.”
In recent months, the American Journalism Project has partnered in the launch of not-for-profit news organizations Signal Cleveland and Houston Landing.
The Signal Cleveland website features live updates of city budget hearings and tutorials on how residents can apply for assistance to pay utility bills.
The under-construction Houston Landing website lists photo editor, diverse communities reporter and suburban reporter among its staff roles. Peter Bhatia, former editor and vice president of The Detroit Free Press, was hired as CEO of the Houston newsroom.
The Indiana Local News Initiative is the latest media startup in Indianapolis, where not-for-profit The Capital Chronicle debuted last July and State Affairs Indiana debuted in December. Last August, digital media company Axios announced plans to launch a daily email newsletter in Indianapolis.
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Indianapolis needs this new service to keep citizen’s informed about local government and state functions. Applause!
Former publisher of The Indianapolis Star?
That says there is a very good chance of a left of center bias right out of the gate.
In today’s environment for almost anybody on the right, publishing anything truthful and factual would be “left of center bias”, so yes, to many people, they will appear bias.
Journalism must finally shed the “both-sides” aim that the right has learned so well to take advantage of… politicians and others on the right spew misinformation and count on journalists to report it alongside facts from the “other side,” or else be declared to be “biased.” The aim of journalism must be to report facts and truths, and be unafraid to shine a light on misinformation.
Ah yes, the old “reality has a liberal bias” coming from Dan M. Our buddy Stephen Colbert, whose late-night shtick used to be pretty solid when he trotted that catchphrase, is now basically using the same language to describe MAGA populists that George Wallace used 50 years ago to describe–well, you know.
As recently as 2015 I probably agreed with Colbert’s “liberal bias” statement. But since I don’t despise working- and middle-class people, I left the Colbert hivemind along ago. As it would appear more people are doing. Greg Gutfeld now gets better ratings than all the network late-night pundits, and his humor is just as cringey as Colbert’s.
It’s 2023. Does reality still have a liberal/left bias? I mean, according to the left, men can be women, giving heroin to junkies is “harm reduction”, Nazis are America’s greatest threat but an asset to Ukraine, casting doubt on elections that get halted for hours/days/weeks and then always show a certain party’s victory is “denigrating democracy”, and any attempt to question the need for COVID authoritarianism is, in Steve D’s words, “misinformation”.
The layoffs at lefty legacy media outlets continue. Must be terrifying to the “reality-based party” that more people are recognizing that, if journalists abandon the “both sides” aim (as 98% of them have), a growing number recognize the result is agitprop.
Agreed Lauren.
Well said!
I hope I’m wrong, but this sounds like another version of Leftwing advocacy
journalistism that already permeates the bulk of the legacy national news media
as well as our local Indianapolis Media.
A couple of things.
1). Gannet has not served many cities well including Indianapolis.
So there is a need locally.
2). Will tough journalistic standards be enforced with these kids.
That is very important.
3). When discussing diversity of the news room and reporters,
will that include conservative thought?
4). What is the mission statement?
If this is just another version of leftwing advocacy, it will fail miserably.
Dan M.
The problem is journalists in the legacy national news media and in
most larger local markets are heavily left of Center.
So called diversity in the newsroom is a joke.
We are typically getting very left of Center journalistic stories.
Cool!!
Are you 8 years old?
With the names, funding sources, locations, and affiliated news platforms mentioned, this is obviously aimed at the black community. We can only hope it is truly non-biased, fair, and informative!
As you note, given the funding sources, it’s aimed at a certain demographic, and it’s almost certain to offer a message and narrative that the funders are seeking, and of course, the funders will use the pseudo-neutral, pseudo-benign term of “non-profit journalism” to peddle influence. And since the black community’s support for the Dems is slipping, new sources of propaganda are necessary to keep them on the–well, you know.
Don’t worry, corporate media devotees…those of us who threw in the towel on legacy media (and our giddy at their continued misfortunes) know full well that almost anything they call “misinformation” or “conspiracy theory” is an inconvenient truth, whether coming from a mega corp or some “investigative” nonprofit. And many of us also put Fox News in that “legacy media” dustbin.
The majority of what you comment on this business journal is an alternate fact Lauren…. It makes sense that even Newsmax is likely not far right enough for your liking.
Thanks Frankie! To be fair, I’m far too right wing for Hitler as well. And yet also a better Marxist than any of the wokies. Weird times.
The best way to know you’re touching on truths in a “time of universal deceit” is to be called misinformation, conspiracy theory, or in your case, “alternative facts”.
Still salty about the latest round of “journalist” layoffs?
WOW a lot of lefties hating big today. Your right there is no bias. I’m personally sick of reading in the locals about the junkie Biden Kid, the fact that social media is filled with federal agents, Men really can’t have babies, and BLM is a scam. Just kidding you never read anything about these issues. I agree there is little chance this “new” organization will change the landscape.
For all the reasons cited above, it is highly doubtful this product will be as advertised
Different question: IBJ do you remember your editorial column talking about how journalists are unbiased and ethical? I do. It was a spit out your coffee, laughable moment. If journalism is unbiased and ethical, why would this new outlet be needed?