In Brief

Working Narratives’ Wilmington Media Ecology Project will train a diverse group of citizen journalists to  address news and media deserts in Wilmington, which primarily affect people of color and low-income white communities.

Summary

Working Narratives focuses on reporting on pressing social challenges such as media justice, mass incarceration, and health equity. Founded in 2011, the organization works at the local and regional level to “tell great stories that inspire, activate and enliven our democracy.” The Wilmington Media Ecology Project will address the news desert problem by training citizens to produce and report their own stories through performance, radio, video, and other forms. It also partners with local social justice advocates and organizations to do the same.

Drawing upon a strong network of partnerships, the Wilmington Media Ecology Project will organize a series of trainings for citizen journalists that will feature local professional journalists. The project will also create a “city desk” that combines the efforts of community members and experts from organizations like MuckRock and Reese News Lab to advance research driven by the community on pressing issues, topics, and stories.

In Their Own Words

“Training citizen journalists and connecting with local journalists through the Wilmington Media Ecology will help build local news coverage that matters. The result will be a more vibrant democracy and better relationships between Wilmington communities and news outlets, who can then work together to address community challenges.”

Rend Smith, Communications Director 

How to Connect

Learn more about Working Narratives via website. You can also find it on Facebook, and Twitter.

Total Commitment

2018: $40,000 for one year

Learn More

Dive deeper by learning about the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund and discovering our other grantees.