Delaware news outlets unite to help bridge political divisions
By Andrew Sharp
The Delaware Independent is joining other outlets around the state to look into ways to deal with the political polarization that is driving our communities apart.
The Local Journalism Initiative of Delaware, a nonprofit aiming to rejuvenate local news in the state, announced the new Delaware Journalism Collaborative in a press release Tuesday.
The Collaborative is a statewide partnership of local news organizations and community partners who are committed to working together to improve access to high-quality local news and information in the state.
For its first two years, the Collaborative plans to focus on uniting Delaware communities driven apart by polarization. The Collaborative will apply a solutions journalism-approach, focused on both challenges and what is working to address those challenges.
For the Independent and other local outlets, that means reporting and sharing our stories with other members, so reporting from outlets all over the state can reach all our readers.
In addition to working together on reporting, the Collaborative will lead community conversations about the reasons for our increasing divide over issues like politics, race, class and more, and focus on how we can work together more effectively to address community challenges. The aim is to provide high-quality, factual coverage that increases the public’s trust in news.
While the Collaborative will grow and evolve and other partners are invited to join, the initial partners are:
Cape Gazette
Delaware Business Now
Delaware Business Times
Delaware Call
Delaware Community Foundation
Delaware Independent
Delaware Libraries
Delaware LIVE
DelawareOnline/The News Journal
Delaware Public Media/WDDE
Delaware State News/BayToBayNews.com
DETV
Local Journalism Initiative
Larry Nagengast, freelance writer/editor
Out & About Magazine
TELEDUCTION/Hearts and Minds Film
WDEL
WHYY
Journalism from the Collaborative will be shared among the partners, on the website of the Local Journalism Initiative, through social media and possibly other platforms.
The Collaborative is funded by a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Solutions Journalism Network’s Local Media Project. The Delaware Journalism Collaborative is one of 14 collaboratives around the country working to build trust in all segments of the communities they serve and stimulate public conversations about key issues.
More information about the journalism and community conversations will be available soon at ljidelaware.org/collaborative.
We're glad to have this chance to work together with other outlets to look at such an important issue.