State policies directly affect people’s daily lives.

State-level political battles shape the national landscape.

About Us

States Newsroom is the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital. We shine a light on policy and politics in all 50 states and we provide that coverage for free; no pop-ups, paywalls or ads.

In an era of rampant disinformation and growing news deserts, we provide non-partisan coverage of the state issues that most affect people’s daily lives.

Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer

There’s a problem in state political coverage

In many state capitals, too many stories go underreported or unreported. While traditional news coverage of national politics has increased in recent years, those successes are isolated to a few major outlets. State coverage continues to shrink.

  • Newsroom employment in the U.S. fell 26% between 2008 and 2020, with a 57% decline at newspapers, according to a 2021 Pew Research Center report.
  • The number of newspaper statehouse reporters declined over 25% from 2014 to 2022 according to a 2022 Pew Research Center study.
  • In December 2023, Challenger Gray & Christmas concluded that the media industry shed more than 21,000 jobs that year, up 467% from 2022, behind only 2020 and 2009.

There are fewer eyes on state government, with real consequences for real people.

Photo by Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent

Our Solution

States Newsroom is bucking that trend.

We now employ more than 220 full-time editors, reporters, and support staff covering 39 states. In 11 other states, we work with and support already-established nonprofit newsrooms. States Newsroom has established a new, philanthropic business model that focuses on news coverage of state politics and policy. Our model is different: it is entirely made possible by donors of all sizes. And unlike virtually every other for-profit and nonprofit media organizations, we don’t run ads of any kind or accept corporate donations or underwriting.

Photo by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout

The Result

High-quality reporting – with no ads or paywalls

We believe that no matter who you are or where you live, you need free access to high-quality, non-partisan reporting on the crucial issues of our time. We provide our network of veteran editors and reporters with the resources they need to cover their communities. Every state newsroom is led by a veteran local journalist with deep knowledge of the state’s political history and media landscape who oversees a staff of experienced capital reporters. Our Washington, D.C., bureau reports on congressional delegations and key Supreme Court and administrative decisions that affect the states. Our Stateline site covers issues that span multiple states.

States Newsroom is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit with offices in Chapel Hill, N.C., and Washington, D.C. All donations to States Newsroom are tax-deductible.