A Year in Review | Civil Newsrooms Recap 2018
In 2018, stories written by Civil Newsrooms were picked up by some of the world’s largest news organizations, exposed corruption and inspired legislative action in multiple countries. To date, Civil-based Newsrooms reach nearly 10 million people worldwide, and have already attracted thousands of paying subscribers. And we know that’s just the beginning of the kind of impact that Civil Newsrooms have the potential to realize. 2019 is destined to be a great year.
As we count down the final few days of 2018, we asked each Newsroom to share its most memorable piece of 2018, along with some additional context about how the story came about. As we approach the new year, we hope you’ll take a moment to read some of the great journalism produced by Civil’s growing community over the past year.
If starting your own independent Civil Newsroom is in the cards for your 2019, find out how you can do so here.
Table of Contents
- Popula | Bourdain Confidential
- The Small Bow | Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
- ZigZag | Why the Civil Token Sale Failed
- Global Ground | A Noose Called Microfinance
- Block Club Chicago | Police Defend Use Of ‘Bait Trucks’ On Chicago’s South Side: ‘No One Touches It, No One Gets Locked Up,’ Officer Says
- Block Club Chicago | As Logan Square Gets Whiter, Neighborhood Schools Must Fight To Survive
- Cannabis Wire | Cannabis Goes to Washington (a three-part series)
- Colorado Sun | “He seemed to have it all”: Arapahoe High School senior’s suicide rattles emotionally fatigued, frightened community
- Colorado Sun | Is metro Denver ready to love its river?
- Colorado Sun | We went to a flat-Earth convention and found a lesson about the future of post-truth life
- ecoWURD | Philly’s Big and Hot Dangerous Mess
- ecoWURD | That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
- ecoWURD | Breaking the Green Retail Ceiling
- ecoWURD | That Climate Change Report Trump Didn’t Want You to See? Yeah, Well, It’s the Law.
Popula | Bourdain Confidential
“I approached Anthony Bourdain for an interview for our inaugural week because I felt his ethos was in alignment with ours — his was a human outlook, rather than that of an “expert.” I feel very lucky to have met him, and I will never stop grieving his loss, despite our brief acquaintance. In person, he was simultaneously delicate and rough, learned and raunchy, and just as fun to be with as you might imagine from watching him on TV. We were at odds about certain aspects of politics and luxury, which made for a quite lively conversation. Somehow I found myself in his apartment at the end of that long afternoon, and that is where I snapped this photo just on my phone. I can only say that it was widely read, and that it meant and means a great deal to me, and that Shuja Haider edited it really beautifully.” — Maria Bustillos, Popula. Read the article >>
The Small Bow | Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
“[This piece is] a great vignette on what egregiously insane drinking looks like. This story also showcases Clancy Martin’s prodigious talent writing illuminating prose about upsetting topics. This was our first story out of the gate. I didn’t care about how many people read it, but I hoped someone out there would read it twice. That’s the goal of our site: to publish things people would want to read more than once “ — A.J. Daulerio, The Small Bow. Read the article >>
ZigZag | Why the Civil Token Sale Failed
“[This episode] was a point of distinction in the evolution of ZigZag, for several reasons. The episode provided an opportunity to further experiment with our approach to storytelling. We followed the impact of big tech on our everyday lives by reporting on how misinformation spreads on Twitter. And we continued to report, in real time, on the developments of the failed Civil token sale. The result was an open invitation for listeners to follow along with us to hear what it’s like for two women journalists and entrepreneurs covering a new and unproven technology.” — Jen Poyant, ZigZag. Listen to the episode >>
Global Ground | A Noose Called Microfinance
“I wanted to make this story for years, ever since I found about problems with microfinance. One evening the Dutch 8 o’clock broadcast news featured suicide by farmers in India. They mentioned it had something to do with climate change and debt. But they didn’t really explain what was going on (how could they in 3 minutes?), so I decided to go there myself.” — Anrike Visser, Global Ground. Read the article >>
Block Club Chicago | Police Defend Use Of ‘Bait Trucks’ On Chicago’s South Side: ‘No One Touches It, No One Gets Locked Up,’ Officer Says
“Block Club Chicago was the first local news outlet to report on police’s use of “bait trucks” in Englewood on Chicago’s South Side, an operation where police pulled over — and then abandoned — semi-trucks filled with merchandise in the under-resourced neighborhood. Officers would wait for people to try to break into the truck, and then arrested them. We were able to report this story on the ground because we have a dedicated reporter in Englewood. The story was picked up nationally and led to police committing to stop the controversial tactic.” — Stephanie Lulay, Block Club Chicago. Read the article >>
Block Club Chicago | As Logan Square Gets Whiter, Neighborhood Schools Must Fight To Survive
“Block Club Chicago reporter Mina Bloom spent months examining how gentrification affects public schools in Logan Square, a neighborhood that has been home to Hispanic families for decades. As the neighborhood’s Hispanic population dwindles, they’re running out of kids to teach.” — Stephanie Lulay, Block Club Chicago. Read the article >>
Cannabis Wire | Cannabis Goes to Washington (a three-part series)
“This piece was the one we “most enjoyed working on.” This is the sort of foundational work on the cannabis beat that sets Cannabis Wire apart. We really lay out the new landscape of cannabis lobbying in Congress, from a rise in industry money to a rise in GOP support, and the implications of these shifting political and economic realities when it comes to past legalization priorities such as criminal justice. I get the feeling we’ll be looking back on this series and this moment in years to come. Also, it is the only series our newsroom has done to date, and the first collaborative project, so that was a fun process.” — Nushin Rashidian, Cannabis Wire. Read the article >>
Colorado Sun | “He seemed to have it all”: Arapahoe High School senior’s suicide rattles emotionally fatigued, frightened community
“We heard Arapahoe High School had again experienced back-to-back suicides, but we waited to tell the story until we could bring at least some sense of understanding to a tragedy that often has no answers. This story aimed to spark community conversation about suicide prevention, in Colorado and beyond.” — Jennifer Brown, Colorado Sun. Read the story >>
Colorado Sun | Is metro Denver ready to love its river?
“This began as a fish story. But as I explored the stretch of the South Platte River that flows through metro Denver, I discovered that everything from urban drainage to recreation, declining flows, huge development plans — and yes, trout — have made the river its own storyline that winds through a rapidly growing area. The river has a horrible history. But it also holds significant promise.” — Kevin Simpson, Colorado Sun. Read the article >>
Colorado Sun | We went to a flat-Earth convention and found a lesson about the future of post-truth life
“The belief that the Earth is flat has been enjoying something of a renaissance — driven not by people who “still” think the Earth is flat but by people who are newly converted to the idea. But most of the reporting I’d seen on flat Earth just kind of light-heartedly gawked at it and the people who believe it, and it left me feeling like I didn’t really understand flat Earthers or this rather alarming movement to reject the most well-established of scientific facts in favor of a worldview heavily dependent on the notion of vast conspiracy. So I wanted to go deeper and keep asking why someone would go down this road, while also trying to understand how conspiratorial beliefs work and how we know anything at all.” — John Ingold, Colorado Sun. Read the story >>
ecoWURD | Philly’s Big and Hot Dangerous Mess
“Philadelphia has always had a junkyard problem — and major one at that. A recent and very massive junkyard fire put more spotlight on that problem. However, Philadelphia’s residents don’t know how extensive the problem is and the extent of environmental impact. Through some investigation, we found that there are 200 football fields worth of junkyards throughout the city, and many of them don’t have a license to operate.” — Sofiya Ballin, ecoWURD. Read the story >>
ecoWURD | That’s Nasty: The Cost of Trash in Philly
“Philadelphia has always suffered from a reputation as “Philthydelphia.” This article dives into how serious an environmental health hazard trash is in Philadelphia, and that it’s not a joke. Our reporting shows that trash is not simply a cosmetic or hygiene problem in Philly, but it presents very serious public health consequences, especially for more distressed populations. The conversation on trash fails to include focus on those populations as the city struggles with tackling the issue. There is little effort in connecting with, protecting or supporting vulnerable communities.” — D.L. Chandler, ecoWURD. Read the story >>
ecoWURD | Breaking the Green Retail Ceiling
“An intriguing conversation about the outdoor retail industry that’s rarely discussed. That industry is valued over $500 billion — much of that is generated from the popularity of brand names that are widely purchased by Black consumers. But, in addition, there is a growing movement of Black interest in the outdoors. Yet, there are no African Americans in the leadership of these companies.” — Charles Ellison, ecoWURD. Read the story >>
ecoWURD | That Climate Change Report Trump Didn’t Want You to See? Yeah, Well, It’s the Law.
“There was some public conversation in the wake of the federal government’s recent climate change report in which people wondered how the Trump administration allowed such a report to surface. Headlines gave the impression that it was something fairly new. However, unknown to much of the public is the fact that issuance of this report is actually federal law that’s been in effect since 1990 — and was, ironically, signed into law by a Republican president.” — G.S. Potter, ecoWURD. Read the story >>
