States Newsroom Impact Report
Introduction
FAIR. FEARLESS. Free.
We launched States Newsroom six years ago with an urgent mission: to provide non-partisan coverage of the state policy and politics that most affect people’s daily lives.
This month, we reached our 50th state.
Today, States Newsroom is the nation’s largest nonprofit news organization dedicated to state coverage. We fully fund newsrooms in 39 states, each with its own website. And we work with nonprofit news outlets in 11 other states.
A coalition of national and local donors has helped us reach this milestone.
With the acquisition of the widely respected Stateline from the Pew Charitable Trusts in 2023 and the expansion of our Washington, D.C., bureau, we now have more than 220 full-time journalists and support staff dedicated to state-level news.
Perhaps most importantly, all of this content is available for anyone to reprint for free. Thousands of outlets across the country rely on States Newsroom for coverage from their state capital.
We’ve also created News from the States, a clearinghouse for all of our award-winning reporting from teams across the country. The site features work from our nonprofit partners, like The Texas Tribune, CalMatters and Mississippi Today.
Decisions about what kids learn in school, who has access to health care, and how clean the water is are made in state capitals. But coverage of state government has been dwindling for years. Because of cutbacks, traditional news outlets are no longer covering state news with sufficient frequency or depth.
We’re proud to be changing that, providing reporting from every state that is fair, fearless and free.
And we’re just getting started.
Chris Fitzsimon
Director and Publisher
Andrea Verykoukis
Deputy Director
Mission & Goals
The nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news org
States Newsroom shines a light on policy and politics in state capitals across the nation and we provide that local coverage for free; no popups, ads or paywalls. In an era of rampant disinformation and news deserts, we provide non-partisan coverage of the state issues that most affect people’s daily lives. And we lift up the voices of the people who are locked out of the political process.
Goals Achieved
Newsrooms and partners in all 50 states- Republished widely across the country
- Established a Washington Bureau
- Expansion, including acquisition of Stateline
- Collaborations with national news orgs
What's Ahead
- On-the-ground election coverage from the states
- Expanding our Washington Bureau
- Expanding in-state reporting capacity
- Support more local news via republication
- New partnerships and collaborations
Impact: By The Numbers
reporting from every state capital in the nation
People don’t always have enough reliable information to know whether their state government is serving them well. States Newsroom now has a newsroom or a news partner in all 50 states covering those important issues.
50
States served
151M
page views in 2023
96K+
stories reprinted
100K+
individual donations
761
Awards won
223
full-time employees
We deliver state coverage to local outlets — for free
In Ohio alone, 45 local news organizations rely on the Ohio Capital Journal’s coverage for their audiences.
- Akron
- Alliance
- Athens
- Avon Lake
- Bowling Green
- Bucyrus
- Chagrin Falls
- Chillicothe
- Cincinnati
- Cleveland
- Columbus
- Coshocton
- Dayton
- East Liverpool
- Findlay
- Fremont
- Galion
- Gallipolis
- Hamilton
- Hillsboro
- Johnstown
- Kent
- Lancaster
- Lima
- Lisbon
- Logan
- Loveland
- Marietta
- Marion
- Martins Ferry
- Medina
- Norwalk
- Port Clinton
- Ravenna
- Salem
- Springfield
- Steubenville
- Stow
- Tiffin
- Toledo
- Valley View
- Warren
- Wooster
- Youngstown
- Zanesville
Impact: OUR WORK
States Newsroom REPORTING SPARKS action
States Newsroom’s journalists shine light on what’s going on in state capitals—in public and behind closed doors. Here are just some of the States Newsroom stories that have made the most impact.
Kansas abortion ban is the plan, officials pushing constitutional amendment tell GOP crowd
Impact: The Reflector’s coverage of a secret recording completely changed the debate on a Kansas abortion referendum, which ultimately was rejected by voters. "Thanks in part to the Reflector’s reporting, voters understood the true stakes of the referendum,” said the Columbia Journalism Review.
Lawsuit: Tyson managers bet money on how many workers would contract COVID-19
Impact: This story, first reported by the Iowa Capital Dispatch, spawned an independent investigation and the firing of seven plant managers. The U.S. Supreme Court later denied a petition by Tyson related to the wrongful death lawsuits.
Unnatural disaster: A special series on ReBuild NC’s flawed disaster relief program
Impact: State lawmakers held hearings, other news organizations followed this story, and some survivors got better housing as a result of NC Newsline’s investigation. The governor has twice dispatched senior advisers in an attempt to fix the $800 million program.
‘This is akin to a hostile takeover’
Impact: The NAACP helped Mason leaders file suit after the Tennessee Lookout’s report on the state comptroller’s move to take over the Black-led town located near a planned Ford plant. The state then agreed to scale back the fiscal takeover.
Records reveal 75 years of government downplaying, ignoring risks of St. Louis radioactive waste
Impact: What the New York Times called a “blockbuster report” prompted bipartisan calls for action, and U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley promised to fight for victims’ compensation. Pres. Joe Biden said he supported the effort, and the federal government announced that after 70 years it would finally install warning signs along Coldwater Creek.
FEMA has paid out just 2% of fund to help wildfire victims rebuild. Some can’t wait much longer
Impact: After a year-long investigation by Source New Mexico and ProPublica, the state’s FEMA director stepped down. FEMA also is being sued by wildfire victims who claim the agency is improperly denying them money they deserve for the federal government’s mistake.
IMPACT: A NEW MODEL
On the front lines
News coverage of state government has decreased dramatically at a time when human rights are under attack, misinformation is rampant and accurate news is hard to find and access. The stakes could not be higher.
“In our rural areas, it is very hard to find trained, educated professional journalists, so I think one of the major things they do for us here in the northeast region is cover issues that affect us. We have not had this kind of opportunity to be able to bring investigative journalism, bring statehouse news.” - Echo menges, Editor/edina sentinel (mo) on the missouri independent
“I support WV Watch because the journalists are objective, the articles published pertain to current events in our state, and I truly feel that WV Watch is one of West Virginia’s last hopes in terms of objective news.” - West virginia watch reader/donor
“A lot of newspapers, for whatever reason, feel they don't have the resources to commit to state capitol coverage. As we've seen in recent years, though, some of the most interesting legislation, and also some of the most destructive legislation, is coming out of the state capitol. When you lose that, you create a news desert. States Newsroom aims to fill in that void.” — Brian lyman, editor/alabama reflector
Impact: Television
STATE EXPERTISE FOR NATIONAL AUDIENCES
Our teams provide deep local expertise from the states. Appearing across a spectrum of broadcast media — from Fox News to MSNBC to CNN to Newsmax — our journalists share their trusted insights, offering unmatched state context and perspective to national audiences.
FOX NEWS
Kathie Obradovich, the editor-in-chief of the Iowa Capital Dispatch, discussed the caucuses in her state and explained what they say about the 2024 Republican race, especially for former President Donald Trump.
MSNBC
Julia Shumway, deputy editor of the Oregon Capital Chronicle, talks with Rachel Maddow about a provision in the Oregon state constitution that blocks the re-election of legislators with too many unexcused absences.
CNN
Annmarie Timmins, senior reporter for the New Hampshire Bulletin, joined "CNN This Morning" to discuss the "big difference" between the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary.
NEWSMAX
Obradovich, who has more than 30 years covering Iowa politics and policy, appeared on “Sunday Report with Jon Glasgow” to discuss the big picture as the Republican primary field narrowed to two candidates.
