Charlottesville Tomorrow

Background

Charlottesville Tomorrow was founded in 2005 and provides local news and opinion pieces regarding developments in Charlottesville, Virginia, and surrounding communities including Albemarle County. Charlottesville, where the organization is focused, is also home to the University of Virginia, and many of the organization’s journalism projects include participation from students. The group claims to have over 900 individual donors and over 9,500 subscribers to its newsletter. ^{1 3}

Charlottesville Tomorrow employs left-of-center language regarding race and social policy, stating that “Race is a big part of [the] conversation…Legacy news organizations have largely failed communities of color and news business models have punished both journalists of color and POC-owned companies.” ¹

In its promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion ideology the group states that “you’ll see a focus on equity in our stories and an emphasis on inclusivity in our staffing and sourcing.” ^{4 5}

One project of the organization details the changing demographics of the City of Charlottesville, noting a shrinking Black population percentage and calling it an indication that “the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting pushed out.” ³

Charlottesville Inclusive Media Project

Charlottesville Tomorrow is a founder of the Charlottesville Inclusive Media Project, a program dedicated to advancing left-wing racial ideologies in media and journalism. The Charlottesville Inclusive Media Project is funded by the Google News Initiative and the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation. ²

People

Angilee Shah is the CEO and editor-in-chief of Charlottesville Tomorrow and leads a team of several journalists, fundraisers, and support staff. ⁶  

Jacqueline Salmon is the board chair of the organization. She is the principal media strategist at the American Bar Association. She was also previously a speechwriter for the Pew Charitable Trusts and a Washington Post reporter. ⁶