States Newsroom (Newsroom Network)

States Newsroom (formerly the Newsroom Network) consists of a number of left-of-center media outlets that cover state-level politics and policy and a Washington, D.C. bureau that claims to focus on congressional delegations and key Supreme Court decisions that specifically affect the states.

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At-A-Glance

Type: Non-profit, 501(c)(3)
Website: statesnewsroom.com
Past Project of:

Hopewell Fund

Director and Publisher:

Chris Fitzsimon

Location: Chapel Hill, NC View on map
Tax ID: 84-2113822
Most Recent Filing: 2024
Budget (2024): Assets: $9,882,443 Revenue: $27,454,229 Expenses: $29,387,263

Contents

    Before 2019, the Newsroom Network was a fiscally sponsored project of the Hopewell Fund, a left-of-center 501(c)(3) funding and fiscal sponsorship nonprofit managed by the Washington, D.C.-based consultancy firm Arabella Advisors, which manages multiple high-dollar left-leaning philanthropic organizations. 1 In 2019, States Newsroom re-branded and received independent nonprofit status.

    A past job posting by States Newsroom referred to the organization as a “progressive political journalism startup.”2

    Washington, D.C. Affiliate

    States Newsroom’s website claims to be made up of state-based news outlets and a national bureau in Washington, D.C. that reports on “congressional delegations and key Supreme Court and administrative decisions that affect the states,” yet any links to a website for the D.C. bureau do not exist on the website or the list of affiliates. States Newsroom has a Twitter page that mostly retweets posts from the state affiliate outlets and rarely posts original tweets. 3 4 5

    State Affiliates

    Alabama Reflector is the Alabama state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 6

    Alaska Beacon is the Alaska state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 7

    Arkansas Advocate is the Arkansas state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 8

    Arizona Mirror is the Arizona state affiliate of the States Newsroom. The Mirror focuses on issues such as immigration, criminal justice and policing, and law and government. The Mirror also covers social liberal issues such as LGBT interests and abortion policy. 9

    Colorado Newsline is the Colorado state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 10

    Daily Montanan is the Montana state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 11

    Florida Phoenix is the Florida state affiliate of the States Newsroom of state media outlets. It covers local politics as well as left-of-center issues in Florida. 12 13 14

    Georgia Recorder is the Georgia state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 15

    Idaho Capital Sun is the Idaho state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 16

    Indiana Capital Chronicle is the Indiana state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 17

    Iowa Capital Dispatch is the Iowa state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 18

    Kansas Reflector is the Kansas state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 19

    Kentucky Lantern is the Kentucky state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 20

    Louisiana Illumination is the Louisiana state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 21

    Maine Morning Star is the Maine state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 22

    Maryland Matters is the Maryland state affiliate of the States Newsroom. The outlet covers the same social justice issues as many of the other affiliated organizations. Maryland Matters focuses mainly on energy and environmental issues, liberal healthcare policy, and education. 23

    Michigan Advance is the Michigan state affiliate of the States Newsroom. Advance covers racial issues, left-of-center women’s policy, LGBT interests, and immigration. Advance also covers local politics and environmental issues. 24

    Minnesota Reformer is the Minnesota state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 25

    Missouri Independent is the Missouri state affiliate of the States Newsroom. In 2020, the website wrote extensively about President Trump’s COVID-19 policies and “racial justice.” 26

    NC Newsline is the North Carolina affiliate of the States Newsroom. Originally titled NC Policy Watch, the group formed in 2004 and was originally a project of think tank North Carolina Justice Center starting in 2007. Negotiations between the States Newsroom and the North Carolina Justice Center led to the project becoming an affiliate of the former by March 1, 2023. 27 28 The move was announced in a joint media release by NC Policy Watch editor and director Rob Schofield, States Newsroom Director and Publisher Chris Fitzsimon, and North Carolina Justice Center Executive Director Reggie Shuford Center. Schofield commented, “Our team of veteran, award-winning journalists has a record of high-impact journalism over the last decade…becoming a fully integrated part of States Newsroom will give us the tools and platform to continue that growth and increase our impact.” 27 NC Newsline employs a team of up to seven journalists that write about policy issues impacting local communities within the state including voting rights, healthcare, LGBTQ and immigration rights, and criminal justice reform. 29 27 NC Newsline also utilizes a blog website called The Pulse to write about specific policy issues impacting North Carolina residents and elected officials. 29

    Nebraska Examiner is the Nebraska state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 30

    Nevada Current is the Nevada state affiliate of the States Newsroom. The Current covers issues including immigration, national politics, and LGBT interests. 31

    New Hampshire Bulletin is the New Hampshire state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 32

    New Jersey Monitor is the New Jersey state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 33

    North Dakota Monitor is the North Dakota state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 34

    Ohio Capital Journal is the Ohio state affiliate of the States Newsroom. The Capital Journal covers health care, labor issues, education, government, and publishes editorial commentary. 35

    Oklahoma Voice is the Oklahoma state affiliate of the States Newsroom. According to its website, The Voice writes on issues including education, health, government & politics, the energy and environment, and Native American topics. 36

    Oregon Capital Chronicle is the Oregon state affiliate of the States Newsroom. 37

    Pennsylvania Capital-Star is the Pennsylvania state affiliate of the States Newsroom. The Capital-Star covers as immigration, environmentalism, LGBT rights, and abortion rights. 38

    Rhode Island Current is the Rhode Island state affiliate of States Newsroom. 39

    Source New Mexico is the New Mexico state affiliate of States Newsroom. 40

    South Carolina Daily Gazette is the South Carolina state affiliate of States Newsroom. 41

    South Dakota Searchlight is the South Dakota state affiliate of States Newsroom. 42

    Tennessee Lookout is the Tennessee state affiliate of States Newsroom. 43

    Utah News Dispatch is the Utah state affiliate of States Newsroom. 44

    Virginia Mercury is the Virginia state affiliate of the States Newsroom. The Mercury covers local and state politics and issues such as criminal justice reform and environmentalism. 45

    Washington State Standard is the Washington state affiliate of States Newsroom. 46

    West Virginia Watch is the West Virginia state affiliate of States Newsroom. 47

    Wisconsin Examiner is the Wisconsin state affiliate of States Newsroom. 48

    In March 2023, public charity PEW Charitable Trusts announced that it would transfer its Stateline news service to be incorporated into States Newsroom along with providing a $3 million grant for the transition process. While it was a project of PEW Charitable Trusts, Stateline covered policy issues and events that impacted more than one state. Such topics for news stories include changing ballot measures, the rise in drug addition in U.S cities, pushes to change traffic and road safety policy, and the amount of legal or health-related infrastructure in rural parts of the country. Stateline executive director Scott Greenberger commented, ““I think this merger with States Newsroom gives us a footprint that no one else can even come close to matching…[w]e’re not just a handful of reporters in odd places.” 49

    Criticism

    On February 6, 2020, Gabby Deutch, Washington Post correspondent for nonpartisan fact-checking group NewsGuard, criticized States Newsroom in an op-ed for being “launched with the backing of the Hopewell Fund, another liberal dark-money group.” 50 Her article discussed Courier Newsroom, a similar left-wing media project that is supported by infamous left-of-center voter advocacy organization ACRONYM. 50

    Leadership

    Chris Fitzsimon is the director and publisher for the States Newsroom. Fitzsimon is the founder and previous director of the Common Sense Foundation, a left-of-center think tank based in Raleigh, North Carolina that has been defunct since 2010. He was also founder and director of NC Policy Watch (now a Newsroom affiliate organization) and an author for NC Spin, both left-leaning news outlets that cover state legislatures and local-level policy. 51

    Andrea Verykoukis is the deputy director of the States Newsroom. She was previously and author for the Progressive Pulse, a left-leaning legislative blog project of NC Policy Watch. 52

    Nelle Dunlap is the digital director for the States Newsroom. She previously worked as the media director for NC Policy Watch. 53

    Financial Statistics

    Total Assets

    Total Revenue

    Total Expenses

    YearTotal AssetsTotal RevenueTotal ExpensesFiling
    2024 $9,882,443 $27,454,229 $29,387,263 View
    2023 $12,605,033 $17,087,945 $25,370,322 View
    2022 $20,477,632 $23,399,713 $18,734,586 View
    2021 $13,800,464 $21,635,211 $13,180,253 View
    2020 $5,387,023 $9,976,227 $9,679,997 View

    Prior year filings: 2019

    Revenue Detail

    Expenses Detail

    Employee Compensation

    • Number of Employees: 256

    Highest Earning Employees

    EmployeeTitleTotal Compensation
    Christopher FitzsimonPRESIDENT & DIRECTOR$238,813
    Scott GreenbergerSTATELINE EXECUTIVE EDITOR$186,809
    Barbara BarrettSTATELINE MANAGING EDITOR$143,349
    Noelle StraubSTATELINE DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR$139,516
    Andrea VerykoukisCHIEF OPERATING OFFICER$136,134
    Jane NormanDC BUREAU CHIEF$134,131

    Grant Activity

    All-time grants received statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $64,056,560
    • Number of Grants: 94
    • Number of Funders: 57

    Selection of highest value grants received from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $23,463,6612022 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $13,370,9002021 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $9,700,0002024 ROCKEFELLER FAMILY FUND INCGENERAL SUPPORT
    $9,213,2752020 Fidelity Investments Charitable Gift FundFor grant recipient's exempt purposes
    $3,000,0002023 The Pew Charitable TrustsPolicy
    $1,001,4102024 The Susan Thompson Buffett FoundationPROGRAM SUPPORT
    $1,000,0002020 Wyss Foundation
    $448,9752024 The Pew Charitable TrustsPolicy
    $285,0002024 A.J. Fletcher FoundationNC NEWSLINE
    $285,0002023 A.J. Fletcher FoundationNC NEWSLINE JOURNALISM
    $251,5962022 The Susan Thompson Buffett FoundationPROJECT SUPPORT
    $250,8912024 The Susan Thompson Buffett FoundationPROGRAM SUPPORT
    $150,0002024 Omidyar Network Fund, Inc.To support independent media reporting and the public's education
    $114,0002023 CUB Consumer Education and Research FundBETTER GRID PROJECT
    $109,2502022 CUB Consumer Education and Research FundCLEAR REGIONAL TRANSITIONAL OPERATORS (RTO) PROJECT
    $100,0002024 Z. Smith Reynolds FoundationFOR GENERAL OPERATING SUPPORT
    $100,0002024 Lexington Observer IncMEDIA SUPPORT
    $82,0002022 The Oak Hill FundCONTINUED SUPPORT FOR A REPORTER COVERING ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES IN VIRGINIA FROM A STATEWIDE PERSPECTIVE.
    $81,1802023 PRO Publica, Inc.PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL REPORTING NETWORK INITIATIVE
    $80,0002021 Gezellig FoundationGENERAL SUPPORT
    $77,0002020 The Oak Hill FundCONTINUED SUPPORT FOR THEIR DEDICATED ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT REPORTER.
    $61,6932024 PRO Publica, Inc.PARTICIPATION IN LOCAL REPORTING NETWORK INITIATIVE
    $60,0002024 Robert W Deutsch FoundationGENERAL OPERATING GRANT
    $50,0002024 Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation IncPROJECT SUPPORT FOR A REPORTER COVERING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE AT THE MISSOURI INDEPENDENT
    $50,0002023 Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation IncPROJECT SUPPORT FOR A REPORTER COVERING REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE AT THE MISSOURI INDEPENDENT

    All-time grants given statistics from Candid dataset:

    • Total Grant Value: $2,105,000
    • Number of Grants: 8
    • Number of Recipients: 3

    Selection of highest value grants given from the last seven years:

    AmountYearFunderSubject
    $310,0002022 NORTH CAROLINA JUSTICE CENTERSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $310,0002021 NORTH CAROLINA JUSTICE CENTERSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $310,0002020 NORTH CAROLINA JUSTICE CENTERSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $250,0002021 Maryland Matters IncSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $250,0002020 Maryland Matters IncSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $225,0002022 Maine People's Resource CenterSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $225,0002021 Maine People's Resource CenterSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION
    $225,0002020 Maine People's Resource CenterSUBGRANT TO SPONSOR ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE ORGANIZATION

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    Financials, employee compensation, and grant information provided by Candid.

    Mentioned in this Article

    References

    1. “About.” The Newsroom. Accessed April 22, 2019. https://statesnewsroom.com/about/.
    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/.
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