Washington, D.C. – Today States Newsroom, the nation’s leading network of state-based nonprofit news outlets, officially launched “Capital Connections,” a free syndication service with coverage from twenty state capitals. States Newsroom also announced plans to expand to twenty five states by the end 2021. 

The new “Capital Connections” service allows other news organizations to run award-winning statehouse reporting from State Newsroom’s team of roughly 100 journalists in every corner of the country. In 2021, an estimated 25,000 articles will be made available through Capital Connections. 

“We are reimagining journalism at the state level to ensure that no matter who you are or where you live, you have access to high-quality, non-partisan reporting on the crucial issues of our time,” said Chris Fitzsimon, Director and Publisher of States Newsroom. “Capital Connections will expand the reach of our existing work and give our colleagues at other outlets the ability to publish stories that their readers would otherwise miss. This type of journalism is essential to democracy.” 

News organizations in all twenty states with States Newsroom outlets ran more than 3,000 Capital Connections stories in 2020. Examples of Capital Connections work include:

• Kansas City Star: Major Hawley donor calls for his censure by Senate
• Des Moines Register: Two state workers fired for expediting a former colleague’s jobless-benefits claim
• Columbus Dispatch: Ohio Board of Education member Kirsten Hill says she walked to US Capitol, prayed during ‘Stop the Steal’ event
• Daily Interlake: Gianforte-backed pay increase for state employees passes House
• Marietta Times: Buckeye Institute asks court to look at Thompson case
• The Emporia Gazette: Gov. Laura Kelly pressures GOP ahead of vote to extend COVID-19 emergency
• Fulton Sun: Missouri Gov. Parson to deliver annual address Wednesday

Capital Connections allows stories to be republished online or in print under a Creative Commons license. Partners are asked not to put the piece behind any paywall, edit only for style or length, provide proper attribution and link to the original outlet’s website. 

In addition to the launch of Capital Connections, States Newsroom also announced plans to expand to at least five new states in 2021: Idaho, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, and New Mexico, bringing the total number of States Newsroom outlets to 25. 

Both efforts come as the nation’s local news crisis was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic causing a record number of local journalists, editors and staff layoffs due to news organizations’ staggering loss of revenue.

States Newsroom is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is funded exclusively by the generous contributions of readers and philanthropists. States Newsroom is committed to supporting fact-based, non-partisan news to the public at no cost and ad-free.

Other States Newsrooms affiliates and partners are:

Arizona Mirror – https://www.azmirror.com/ 
Colorado Newsline – https://coloradonewsline.com/ 
Florida Phoenix – https://www.floridaphoenix.com/ 
Georgia Recorder – https://georgiarecorder.com/
Iowa Capital Dispatch – https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/ 
Kansas Reflector  – https://kansasreflector.com/ 
Louisiana Illuminator – https://lailluminator.com/
Maine Beacon – http://mainebeacon.com/ 
Maryland Matters – https://www.marylandmatters.org/ 
Michigan Advance – https://www.michiganadvance.com/
Minnesota Reformer – https://minnesotareformer.com/ 
Missouri Independent – https://missouriindependent.com/ 
Daily Montanan – https://dailymontanan.com/ 
Nevada Current – https://www.nevadacurrent.com/ 
NC Policy Watch – http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/ 
Ohio Capital Journal – https://www.ohiocapitaljournal.com/ 
Pennsylvania Capital-Star – https://www.penncapital-star.com/ 
Tennessee Lookout – https://www.tennesseelookout.com/ 
Virginia Mercury – https://www.virginiamercury.com/ 
Wisconsin Examiner – https://wisconsinexaminer.com/ 

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