Delaware Journalism Collaborative Launches to Address Community Polarization

News outlets and partners will advance solutions to community divisions through reporting and public conversations

The Local Journalism Initiative of Delaware is pleased to announce the new Delaware Journalism Collaborative.

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 will 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.

The Collaborative will conduct reporting and 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 Collaborative will 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 Libraries
Delaware Independent
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 other platforms to be determined.

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.

The Collaborative is in the process of hiring a project manager to guide the work. More information about the journalism and community conversations will be available soon at ljidelaware.org/collaborative.

The Local Journalism Initiative of Delaware is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, currently operating its programs through a fiscal sponsorship fund at the Delaware Community Foundation.