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Trekking To and Through Collaborative Journalism

A Collection of Insights, Examples and Resources

I approached Andrew a few months before my involvement with Gather began, seeking ways to further engage in the platform and with its community. It so happened that my time as guest curator did not begin until after I exited my role at the Colorado News Collaborative (COLab), where I worked supporting collaborating newsrooms on engagement, and it was right as I started a fellowship at the bilingual desk of The Arizona Republic, where I wanted to undertake possible editorial collaborations first-hand. Straddling the line between an engagement lead and a reporter, I decided to focus my time with Gather as an intellectual endeavor, trekking deep into collaborative journalism. My aim was to delve into the philosophical as much as the practical aspects of the topic.

Over the course of several weeks, I spoke one-on-one with ten collaborative journalism professionals and moderated a panel discussion and a Lightning Chat on the topic. I also gathered a series of questions from a handful of Gather Slack community members to prioritize the content and inform the structure of this post. I dove into the existing texts and available online resources and listened to several webinars on the latest tools.

What resulted is a compilation of insights to support interested journalists in exploring the why, what, who, and how of their collaborations. It also offers perspectives on success and sustainability. I hope that, in an ocean of expert guidance on the topic, this post can serve as a metaphorical raft to navigate key conceptual aspects of collaborative journalism and the resources readily available for its implementation.

Note to the reader: The content in this post is not comprehensive nor does it represent in full the views of the quoted contributors. The examples and resources herein represent a curated list informed by requests and questions asked by Gather members through Slack and selected suggestions made by participating experts.

Collaborative Journalism as a Paradigm Shift

An overarching theme that emerged from conversation after conversation is the realization that collaboration in journalism can be defined in various ways, from content sharing and editorial partnerships to audience reach and fundraising. Bridget Thoreson, Director of Collaboration at the Institute for Nonprofit News, wisely summarized this point during our Lightning Chat in late March, “Collaboration, much like work on engagement, means different things to different people.” Yet, amidst diverging definitions, a common underlying assumption remains that multiple parties will come together to pursue a shared objective.

As such, it’s helpful to conceptualize collaborative journalism as a paradigm rather than a process. Collaboration for this text is defined as a fundamental directive geared towards producing quality journalism, which assumes that the collective can do more than any individual actor.

Why Collaborate?

“One thing that I’ve learned from this is, as most of us who went to (Journalism) school, is we’re very competitive, and we wanted to, you know. We were taught to deliver the scoop for our newsrooms and for our entities ourselves and the idea of collaboration just seemed so alien to us. It’s like we compete fiercely with each other, how could we possibly collaborate with each other? And what we did is we tore down a lot of myths. And one is that we think that if we’ve got the story, everybody will come to our channel and read that nobody else will. And what we’ve learned is everybody still has their favorite media sources. And we can play to that strength and our own strengths rather than against each other.”

Dave Perry, Editor and Publisher, Sentinel

Three Colorado-based panelists joined me for a panel discussion in February to discuss lessons learned from the extensive focus on collaboration the state has seen over the past several years. Sentinel’s Dave Perry opened up about his transformative journey in becoming the editor and publisher for the centenarian local publication. He attributes the support of funding and resource organizations anchored in principles of collaboration, such as Colorado Media Project and COLab, as critical elements for the Sentinel’s survival. Brittany Winkfield, Associate Publisher at one of Denver’s premier sources of content with and about people of color, the Denver Urban Spectrum, and a second panelist in February’s discussion, agreed. In much the same way, she attributed much of her newsroom’s latest push for innovation and move toward collaborative processes to the supportive ecosystem in Colorado.

I can personally vouch for the power of said support. One of the most lasting lessons I learned during my time in Colorado, and something Laura Frank, COLab’s executive director, and the third panelist in February’s panel, consistently emphasizes, is the concept of “big C” collaboration — collaboration beyond the editorial aspects of journalism. Much of the work that she directs with her Colorado partners and ally institutions, from content sharing to engagement to revenue generation, is rooted in the premise that a collective can achieve what one sole newsroom wouldn’t be able to do otherwise. In my view, this is a fundamental factor in the evolution of local news in the state.

Weaving together multiple partners and processes can get the greatest leverage for the benefit of all involved, something staying in individual silos cannot. Undoubtedly, this is achieved through specific processes and best practices, and we will get to that. For now, let’s explore some framing concepts from those quoted above alongside multiple other of my interviewees to guide your thinking early on and optimize your collaboration efforts down the line.

Leveraging individual strengths through collaborative work liberates resources strategically. A recurrent theme throughout my conversations was the idea that collaboration allows partners to accomplish together what they couldn’t do on their own. Each collaborative partner can contribute in crucial ways, leveraging its strengths and recognizing that this arrangement is meant to lift all boats in equivalent ways. Working together on crucial issues of shared importance frees up resources to focus on more hyper-local coverage that is differently pertinent to individual communities and can extend the focus beyond breaking issues into more investigative content.

Collaboration as a wraparound approach helps fill in structural gaps and strengthens the local media ecosystem more sustainably. Separate from the daily grind of news and media production, mechanisms and entities dedicated to the management of collaborative endeavors can provide valuable insights into missing pieces of structures of local media ecosystems. A project manager or host institution can have the flexibility (and resources) to zoom out to strategically assess the landscape and be intentionally dedicated to tackling structural gaps and shortcomings. In this way, resources infused into a local ecosystem can be distributed equitably for enduring infrastructural improvements.

Collective attention to urgent matters catalyzes community participation and brings accountability to power. Beyond the investment in individual partners and the local news ecosystem, coordinated attention to an issue in the media can prompt and funnel interest and movement at the community level. As such, local news media can enact its role as a watchdog over public institutions, providing checks on governmental power and serving as a forum for debate and discussion. At the same time, it can catalyze organizing efforts to question and address issues in systems on the side of the community. The Great Salt Lake Collaborative’s Director, Heather May, spoke of the importance of the collaborative’s approach centered on actions and answers during our conversation. She said that focusing on evidence-based solutions “helped change the narrative from ‘why bother saving the (Great Salt Lake)’ to ‘what can I do to help,’” which, in turn, keeps policymakers accountable because the community is equipped with reliable information to point at places and policies that need improvement. Collective attention can also amplify the increased infusion of resources from philanthropy, the nonprofit sector, and other institutions for sustainable growth. All are crucial components of a thriving democracy.

Now, onto more practical matters.

Who Should Collaborate?

“Because of the contraction in the news industry, regardless of platform, there is no way one outlet can be as comprehensive in a topic on its own. There is strength in numbers, in bringing people together to say ‘Yes, this is a challenge in our community and these are the solutions being implemented.’ We all bring assets to the table in collaboration.”

Amy Maestas, Director of Collaboratives, Solutions Journalism Network

During a Zoom conversation, Solutions Journalism Network’s Director of Collaboratives, Amy Maestas, was resolute about highlighting that all partners multiply value in a collaboration. ASJ’s multi-year collaboration initiative, the Local Media Project, has convened 15 news collaboratives across the country since 2019 to practice solutions journalism covering local topics of interest. The participating collaboratives have worked with partners across industries, including bringing together libraries, higher education institutions, choral groups, performance arts organizations, subject matter experts, and nonprofits, all of which contribute in significant ways.

But it’s not just value that is added; with collaboration comes increased complexity, too. Below are some key insights from my conversations that more specifically call attention to the mechanics and implications of identifying partnerships and examples and resources to reference as you or your newsroom determine who to collaborate with and when not to.

Key Insights:

• A genuine desire for collaboration fosters organic partnerships: Shared interest that organically pulls potential partners together was a recurrent key aspect of successful collaborations shared throughout my conversations. This is also something I have witnessed firsthand in my work. A willing partner makes for a good one, while the opposite is also true. Coalescing partners under a coordinated approach to cover critical issues is in itself a taxing job. Attempting to corral those unconvinced of their involvement may very well be impossible, if not disadvantageous. Through and through, the agreement was that the genuine interest of even a few beats compulsory participation by the many every time.
• No shame in saying “no”: Building upon the previous point, there are often valid and substantial reasons for not participating in collaborative efforts. Putting aside unmitigated competition, there are very real concerns around capacity, philosophical differences, and audience priorities that thwart even the best of intentions to collaborate. And what I heard in my conversations was unequivocal: “That’s okay.” Saying “no” to collaboration is sometimes the kindest action you can take, or as Bridget phrased it in the Chat, “Clarity is kindness.” Truly, it is.
• An assortment of expertise, skills, and capabilities fosters a responsive approach to collaboration: The strength that Amy alluded to in the quote above doesn’t just refer to the sheer number of partners in a collaboration. There is also strength in the diversity of knowledge and experience that different kinds of partners can bring to the fold. Identifying and tapping into assets available inside and outside a newsroom and the local news industry promotes strategic relationship-building, fosters credibility, broadens expertise, and expands reach across communities.
• Trust and equity are the currency of cooperation: One of my favorite insights shared by Bridget during our Chat was that “collaboration moves at the speed of trust.” And, if I may add, fairness and transparency are what trust is made of. In a thinning industry with stretched-out newsrooms, an equitable distribution of responsibilities is as significant to enduring partnerships as is a fair distribution of resources. Partners of the same type and size are seldom the only ones involved in collaborative efforts. On the contrary, effective collaborations involve outlets of all sizes and compositions delivering news through various formats. Ensuring all partners receive adequate resources and support to deliver on their agreements promotes ongoing cooperation.

Diving Deeper:

• Voter Voices 2024 is an unprecedented collaborative effort led by COLab with over 30 diverse news organizations in Colorado representing a wide array of expertise and formats, from print to digital, mainstream and ethnic, rural and urban, to cover the upcoming elections. Through a shared survey centered on the Citizens Agenda model, newsrooms across the state will actively engage with voters to identify top concerns, prioritize their voices, and hold local candidates accountable.
• A collaboration spearheaded by INN brought ten newsrooms together to work on the At the Crossroads series, exploring issues in rural Indigenous communities. The project aimed to improve community-centered journalism, addressing key questions such as how the news media can better meet information needs and underscored the importance of building trust.

Tool Pool:

• Developing Journalism Collaborations for Local Impact: The Role of Collaborative Scaffolding: Developed by the Center for Cooperative Media with support from the Knight Foundation, this resource offers insights and guidance into the role of collaborative scaffolding and solutions journalism to rebuild and strengthen local news.
• Collaborative Journalism Database: Compiled by the Center for Cooperative Media, this database organizes details on collaborative journalism projects around the world to facilitate information finding and sharing.

What to Collaborate On?

“(The) Great Salt Lake affects the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the water we drink. Our topic is focused on an existential crisis. The right topic keeps newsrooms and the public interested. The reporting on it has been vital and urgent.”

Heather May, Director, Great Salt Lake Collaborative

Key Insights:

• If it is something interested collaborators are already going to do, do it together. Stefanie Murray, director of the Center for Cooperative Media, a few good baby steps newsrooms who want to work together can take to launch collaborative efforts. Community events and festivals that are already on newsrooms’ budgets for coverage are often low-hanging fruit for cooperation. Sharing coverage plans, specific angles different partners are particularly interested in, and ways to work together can set the foundation for later collaboration. For newsrooms that have not worked together in the past, Stefanie suggests starting with something as straightforward as content sharing before diving into deeper waters. Like using training wheels, simpler agreements, in the beginning, can support partnership dynamics in lower-stake situations for heavier-weight collaborations in the future.
• “Collective obsessions” are the substance of a winning collaboration: During our Chat, Bridget spoke about identifying what collaboration-willing partners are collectively obsessed about as the key to unlocking effective conversations that lead to collective work. This point was something Heather zeroed in on very emphatically during a conversation. Heather has been leading the work of the Utah collaborative for over two years, during which time 13 partners have come together under her leadership to cover the dire issues surrounding the lake’s desiccation. Picking a topic of crucial importance to convening partners and the community at large is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success, in her view.
• Narrow scopes help simplify the naturally complex processes of collaborative work: Topical focus is not the only way to whittle down complexity. Concentrating on specific dimensions of an issue, community, or geography can help clarify priorities and map out assets for effective collaboration. Melanie Plenda, Director of the Granite State News Collaborative, called this “unity of focus” and identified it as a good strategy for young collaborations in particular. Melanie leads the New Hampshire-based collaborative, which has brought together more than 20 media, education, and community organizations to produce solutions-focused coverage. Starting as a project manager, a lot of her focus early on was on narrowing down interests into a single focus as a kind of training wheels for partners to learn to work together. Another skillful way to refine the scope of a project is through what Bridget called the “second bite at the apple” approach. This involved shifting the collaboration’s focus from breaking news to amplifying the impact of an existing story by highlighting unique angles.
• Values-centered and mission-driven aims foster resilient partnerships: Even more foundational than topic and scopes, there are anchoring aspirations that can bond partners together in a collaborative endeavor. Siani Colón, Associate Editor of Collaborations at the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative, powered by Resolve Philly, spoke about the evolution her newsroom has gone through transitioning from working on topic-focused collaborations to becoming a broad-scope collaborative. For five years Broken Philly brought together 29 newsrooms to report collaboratively on issues of poverty and economic mobility. Adhering to three core pillars of the news organization is what she believes has made their collaborative work the industry’s gold standard, namely advancing participatory journalism, bridging the information divide, and being responsive to the community. Organizational values are not the only possible binding agent for enduring partnerships. Larger journalism ideals and strategic goals, such as protecting the vulnerable and serving news deserts, can also offer solid direction and purpose.

Diving Deeper:

• Since 2019, the Utah-based collaborative has dedicated significant effort to the Great Salt Lake. Moving forward, the cohort will expand its scope to include the Colorado River. The outcomes the cohort has achieved, including increased awareness of the Lake’s dire state, community advocacy, and policy changes, demonstrate the potential for similar success on another issue of critical importance to local audiences.
• In October, Broken Philly launched the Philadelphia Journalism Collaborative, transitioning from its previous topical-focused approach to a broader scope examining more generally the systems and structures impacting the lives of the state’s residents. The insight gained from Broken Philly’s five years, along with the trust built with partnering organizations along the way, offers a solid foundation for ongoing success.

Tool Pool:

• Collaborative Data Journalism Guide: Developed by ProPublica with support from Google News Initiative, this guide walks through the process of using datasets to find and collaborate on stories.
• Collaborate: Developed by ProPublica, allows multiple partners to view and share datasets to conduct collaborative data projects.

How to Collaborate?

“What I had to learn early on was to go to each partner, get them to talk to me one-on-one, and be honest about their capacity. Is this realistic? If I ask you to do X and Y, is it interesting to you and your audience? It’s about getting into the nitty and gritty. The more legwork I could do to listen to them, take all they were telling me, and synthesize it into a draft plan for how something was going to work, the more likely they were to participate. I can’t emphasize enough having a person doing this.”

Melanie Plenda, Director, Granite State News Collaborative

Key Insights:

• Central project management offers a needed level of neutrality for efficiency and trust building. During our call, Melanie compared her role to that of Switzerland, emphasizing its neutrality. She emphasized the value of impartiality as key to serving the entire collaborative entity rather than favoring any single outlet. She stressed the importance of connecting and listening to all partners, sorting all the “nuts and bolts” to determine where the different pieces fit into a plan. Siani also highlighted the need for a central project management mechanism to assess capacity, identify strengths and gaps, combine goals, and connect partners to resources as a crucial aspect of the work, akin to matchmaking.
• Third-party editing is a welcomed structural support for collaboration. According to Bridget, one of the most surprising findings of recent research on collaboration was the love collaborating journalists showed for editors from outside of their newsroom. Bringing editors to work on collaborations speaks of the importance of structuring collaborative efforts in ways that meet each partner where they are. As reviewed in previous sections, partners in a collaboration often contribute in different ways. A third-party editor can adjust to each other’s circumstances in ways that play to each other’s strengths, fostering equity in the process.
• Clear expectations and agreements set ground rules and common language for ongoing communication. In a process abounding with metaphors, Laura did not disappoint. She spoke of collaborations as comparable to a marriage and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) as analogous to prenuptial agreements. The benefit of MOUs, she said, is to put into writing as many things as can be penned down on the front end to avoid friction later. Bridget called them framing devices, explaining that MOUs are less about forcing behavior than having an agreed-upon resource to answer questions as they arise.
• Central or shared topical story repositories not only showcase collaborative efforts but also have strategic advantages and serve as an important public service. The Great Salt Collaborative has produced nearly 600 stories on the lake since January 2022. She believes that the intensive level of coverage has been among the most essential signifiers to the public about the importance of the topic but, even more importantly, coalescing all the coverage in one spot has become an important public service to amplify surrounding efforts and highlight ways for community members and policymakers to get involved. Dave Gehring, Distributed Media Lab’s CEO and co-founder, also shared a related example. His company is built on the concept of shared content visibility. Using his technology, partnering newsrooms can distribute stories of statewide importance through a recommendations widget embedded on each of the partners’ websites. In this way, they can grow their audience and sell sponsorships for added revenue.

Diving Deeper:

• The Granite State News Collaborative is working on a project centered around race and equity, highlighting the vital contributions of diverse communities to the state’s economic and cultural health. Leveraging investigative reporting and data analysis, the collaborative aims to unveil disparities and shed light on solutions.
• Distributed Media Lab is teaming up with Public Media Venture Group to create news content syndication networks for local and public stations to boost audience and revenue growth. This comes after the successful launch of a similar model in California with San Francisco’s KQED, demonstrating sustainable revenue models for journalism.
• Newsrooms throughout Oregon teamed up in 2019 to bring attention to the public health crisis of death by suicide across the state. Under the collective banner of “Breaking the Silence,” the outlets published a series of stories on a shared site using a common dataset and coordinating their coverage to maximize their efforts.

Tool Pool:

• Collaboration Toolkit: Developed by INN and the Reynolds Journalism Institute, this toolkit includes templates, project management and funding guidance, and a searchable database to find collaboration partners.
• Project Manager Playbook for Collaborative Journalism: Developed by CCM, this resource can help identify the role of the collaboration manager and provides samples of job descriptions.
• Roadmap to Creating A Local News Collaboration: Developed by Bureau Local, this roadmap offers guidance to set up a local news collaboration
• The Reentry Project: A Collaborative Playbook: Developed by SJN with support from the Knight Foundation, shows how to design a collaborative including notes on challenges, shared funds, and communications structured around the creation and implementation of Philadeplphia’s The Reentry Project.
• Gathering Toward Solutions: A Community Event Playbook for Journalism Collaboratives: Developed by Solutions Journalism Network, this guidebook offers practical information on how to think about audience engagement in the context of events for collaborative success.
• Collaborative Journalism MOU template: Developed by CCM. The CCM Best Practices and Guides page lists other collaborative journalism partnership agreements, MOUs, and contract examples such as ones from the Center for Investigative Reporting, Resolve Philadelphia, American University/WAMU, and Your Voice Ohio.
• You can find many more guides, tips, and templates on the Center for Cooperative Media’s site and the Solutions Journalism Network’s Local News Media page.

Growth and Sustainability

“(Being part of a matching campaign) gave us perspective on how we are telling our own story and highlighting the work we do. The stories keep coming and we don’t stop to reflect and spend time bringing the story to light. It gave us time to think about how we talk about (the stories), what we are highlighting to bring some light to it.”

Brittany Winkfield, Associate Publisher, Denver Urban Spectrum

Key Insights:

• Embrace the idea of shared investment including that of community ownership for sustained growth. Dave Perry spoke of his journey toward community ownership citing the model of the Green Bay Packers as inspiration. By encouraging community members in the Sentinel’s town of Aurora, this move highlights the need for shared investment in local news media beyond more traditional avenues like philanthropy and advertising. Collaboration, in this way, is not only between news media outlets but a partnership with the community. Despite initial challenges, the Sentinel’s initiative raised $30,000 of shares sold within just 30 days in November 2023. Community ownership signifies more than just financial support but a collective belief in the enduring value of local journalism. “They (people) got it,” Dave noted of his fellow Coloradans.
• Project-related funding may set things in motion for larger operational financing down the line. For most collaborations, particularly young and new, finding project-related funding can be much easier than operational monies, according to Stefanie. She suggests looking for organizations, potential funders, donors, or other sources of revenue that align with the goals of the collaborative project and won’t ethically get in the way of work trying to do. Additionally, making sure you are on lists of any philanthropic efforts or grantmaking institutions can facilitate funding opportunities.
• Leverage editorial partnerships and content sharing to reach a distributed audience. Editorial collaboration can serve as a strategic avenue for reaching an expansive pool of demographics and geographies. Dave Perry has achieved a fair level of success with this by crediting partners for the shared content and including courtesy links back to partners’ platforms, fostering reciprocal traffic this way. In turn, added traffic translates into free marketing opportunities. “No bad has ever come from this, all we do is get more content, more bang for the buck out of working together,” he said. Dave Gehring has also seen a decent amount of success for his clients at Distributed Media Lab by focusing on distribution. A collaboration banner for content sharing distributes audiences without sending users away from hosting websites, supporting growth for all involved.
• Collaborations have the potential to amplify missions and pave the way to revenue generation. Melanie underscored the importance of her role in bringing attention to those “fighting the good fight” on the journalism front and emphasizing the crucial role of local news in society. The collaborative structure can boost the work of the editorial endeavors by boosting its message with funders and local leaders, filling in a crucial gap in the chain toward sustainability. For this, CCM’s Stefanie advises being intentional in showcasing the strengths and reach of all partners in a collaboration and answering questions for the funders such as where the content is going, who it will reach, and what the engagement plan is, among other key details.
• Coordinated advertising buys can support the revenue needs of small and ethnic news organizations. Stefanie also spoke of the success publishers have had through ad buys in instances when one partner wishes to reach markets other partners know, cover, and serve. In Colorado, Dave Perry and Brittany are spearheading an initiative to address the financial issues of local ethnic news organizations. Recognizing their strong connection with their local communities and the challenges faced by advertisers in reaching these communities, they are collaborating to establish a joint advertising network. Through this approach not only do they promote their outlets but also attract advertisers seeking to engage with the state’s underserved communities. In this way they are bridging the gap between advertisers and diverse audiences, fostering a more inclusive and sustainable local media ecosystem.

Diving Deeper:

• The Sentinel in Aurora, Colorado is moving toward a model of local ownership, bringing direct investment from community members in the form of sold shares. This initiative seeks to protect local journalism from being overtaken by large corporations guaranteeing the newspaper remains accountable to its readers.
• Denver Urban Spectrum has partnered with KGNU Radio to host a monthly community news radio program that uplifts the voices and stories of people engaged in activism across the Denver metro area. This collaboration has broadened the audience of both outlets and pushed the Spectrum’s capabilities through experimentation with audio formats.

Tool Pool:

• Collaborative Sustainability Guide: Developed by The Center for Cooperative Media, The Lenfest Institute and Solutions Journalism Network, this toolkit provides ideas and guidance on innovative revenue models for collaborative journalism.
• Budget and Finance for Journalism Collaborations: Developed by The Center for Cooperative Media, this guide explores approaches to budgeting and finance for collaborative work as news organizations have done across the country.
• Raising money is hard. Spending it is harder: Written by Solution Journalism Network’s Liza Gross, this article ponders on the difficulties of budget management and the need for a long-term vision with an eye toward sustainability.
• So, you want to start or fund a collaborative?: Developed by Solutions Journalism Network, this guide is an excellent source of tools on collaboration, research and community engagement and workflow guidelines, job descriptions and process documents.
• Strategies for Tracking Impact: A Toolkit for Collaborative Journalism: Developed by Solutions Journalism network, this kit offers guidance into clear impact-tracking metrics and strategy to support impact measurements for collaborative work.
• Collaborating for Change: Approaches to Measuring the Impact of Collaborative Journalism: Developed by the Center for Cooperative Media, this resource outlines definitions and findings on best practices for measuring and tracking the impact of collaborative journalism initiatives.

Conclusion

Collaborative journalism can be a transformative journey for partnering newsrooms and communities alike, transcending traditional boundaries and creating a culture of mutual support and shared learning. In an environment of rapidly evolving artificial intelligence, invasive disinformation, and massive layoffs, cultivating genuine partnerships grounded in shared values and grand ideals has become paramount for the survival of local news media. Through conversations, expert presentations, and feedback from Gather’s community, this article represents a compilation of insights that can illuminate your steps in various stages of collaborative work. More importantly, however, I hope it paints a deconstructed picture of its many layers. Collaboration as a paradigm shift moves us beyond the mechanics of process and execution, redirecting our focus toward the more fundamental aspiration to unite efforts. This shift has the potential to broaden perspectives, reveal untapped possibilities, and foster ongoing exploration. By embracing collaboration as both a philosophy and a practice, we can chart a course for more equitable and sustainable local news ecosystems, heeding sage advice to “lift all the boats.”

Silvia Solis is a communications and journalism professional, known for her ability to foster engagement and lead strategic initiatives within the media industry. With a diverse background spanning journalism, research, and strategic communication, Silvia brings a curiosity for exploration and a passion for deep understanding to her work. She holds an MA Degree in Media, Culture, and Communications from New York University and has immersed herself in diverse worldviews through academic study and work experience in the US, Mexico, Spain, and Israel. Having served as the Community Engagement Director for the Colorado News Collaborative and currently participating in a Fellowship at The Arizona Republic’s bilingual sister publication, La Voz, she navigates the complexities of community-centered reporting and engagement strategies. Fluent in both English and Spanish, Silvia is dedicated to amplifying diverse voices and nurturing inclusive communities within the realm of local news.