Non-profit

Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Website:

www.penncapital-star.com/

Type:

News Organization

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Pennsylvania Capital-Star is a left-leaning opinion and news website focused on government and political news coverage in Pennsylvania. It is part of the left-of-center media organization States Newsroom (formerly the Newsroom Network), which was until 2019 a fiscal project of the Hopewell Fund, a nonprofit managed by the for-profit consulting firm Arabella Advisors.

Background

The Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of the network, States Newsroom, that has 10 other affiliate state newsrooms and websites across the United States, as well as a Washington, D.C. newsroom. 1 States Newsroom has described itself as a “progressive political journalism startup.” 2

In addition to a state capital bureau in Harrisburg, Capital-Star also has correspondents in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. It says it has formed partnerships with news outlets across the states. 3 It features a daily “Morning Coffee” newsletter for readers. 4

Staff

John L. Micek is the editor-in-chief. Micek has more than 25 years’ experience and was the former opinion editor for PennLive/Patriot-News in Harrisburg. 5 Micek previously covered Pennsylvania politics for the Morning Call newspaper in Allentown. In previous jobs, he also reported on Congress and Chicago City Hall. Micek appears regularly on state talk shows for TV and radio, and has a nationally syndicated column on American politics. 6

Cassie Miller is the associate editor. She previously covered local sports, news and the financial services industry in previous news jobs. Most of her experience in magazine writing, editing and design. She also runs independent online magazines, Dead Air and Infrared. 7

Stephen Caruso is a reporter covering the Capitol. Caruso previously worked for Pittsburgh City Paper, PublicSource and The PLS Reporter. 8

Elizabeth Hardison, before reporting for the Capital-Star, covered municipal government, schools, courts and business in Harrisburg as a city reporter for TheBurg Magazine. 9

States Newsroom

States Newsroom is formerly the Newsroom Network. The 501(c)(3) is made up of several state capital news websites, as well as a Washington, D.C. bureau. The left-leaning Hopewell Fund was initially the fiscal sponsor of States Newsroom. In 2019, the organization rebranded and became an independent nonprofit. 10

Chris Fitzsimon is the director and publisher of the organization. He was the founder and director from 2004 to 2017 of NC Policy Watch, a news and commentary outlet in North Carolina. He hosted a weekly radio show and wrote a weekly newspaper column about North Carolina politics. He founded the liberal think tank Common Sense Foundation. He was also a former staffer for North Carolina Speaker of the House Dan Blue (D-Raleigh). 11

Fitzsimon said the States Newroom editorial board is “on the liberal side,” but said that is no different than the New York Times. 12

References

  1. Newsrooms. States Newsroom. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://statesnewsroom.com/newsrooms/
  2. “States Newsroom Hiring Media Administrative Assistant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 23, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/media-administrative-assistant-at-states-newsroom-1362718370/.
  3. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  4. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  5. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  6. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  7. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  8. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  9. About. Pennsylvania Starr-Capital. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.penncapital-star.com/about/
  10. Barrett, Malachi. “News Websites With Political Ties Spread Across Michigan.” Governing. November 9, 2019. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.governing.com/news/headlines/News-Websites-with-Political-Ties-Spread-Across-Michigan.html
  11. About. “States Newroom” Accessed February 8, 2020. https://statesnewsroom.com/about/
  12. Barrett, Malachi. “News Websites With Political Ties Spread Across Michigan.” Governing. November 9, 2019. Accessed February 8, 2020. https://www.governing.com/news/headlines/News-Websites-with-Political-Ties-Spread-Across-Michigan.html
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