Down in the County is a local media organization founded by Andrea Bruce in Pamlico County, North Carolina in 2021. Bruce, a veteran photojournalist, sought to fill a perceived gap in local media in her home region. ¹

Her work has influenced her current approach of using Down in the County to capture daily life in the area to emphasize shared values and experience despite political disagreement. It has also partnered with a local youth organization to provide photojournalism training and mentorship to young people in Pamlico County. ^{1 2 3}

Founding and History

Down in the County was founded in 2022 by photojournalist Andrea Bruce. The publication is focused on her home region of Pamlico County, North Carolina, and is the only local news source in the area. It is formatted as a newsletter. As of February 2023, it claimed nearly 5,000 subscribers, equivalent to around 40 percent of the county’s population, and reportedly the majority of subscribers are residents of the county. It was previously hosted on Bulletin, the now-defunct Facebook newsletter subscription program. ¹

Down in the Country also participates in a local mentorship program called Youth Navigating Toward Opportunity to teach teenagers photojournalism skills. ⁴

Financials

As a fiscally sponsored organization of Catchlight, Down in the County does not publish its own tax filings. However, Down in the Country does publish the names of donors that contribute more than $5,000. As of 2024 it listed two such donors, Imagine Pamlico and the Pamlico Arts Council. ²

Partners

Catchlight

Down in the County is a fiscally sponsored project of Catchlight. Catchlight is a nonprofit that seeks to expand visual storytelling and photojournalism in the wake of media downsizing. Down in the Country founder Andrea Bruce was a fellow with Catchlight in 2019. ^{5 3}

Youth Navigating Toward Opportunity

Down in the County partners with Youth Navigating Toward Opportunity, a local youth organization in Pamlico County. Down in the County collaborated on a mentorship program to train interested youth sin photojournalism and secured a grant to provide starting photography equipment for the participants. ⁴

Leadership

Andrea Bruce is the founder of Down in the County and the publication’s main author. She began working in Iraq as a photojournalist in 2003 and would go on to report from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflict zones for 15 years. Her previous employers include National Geographic, the New York Times, and the Washington Post. She is a co-owner and member of the international photo agency NOOR. She teaches photojournalism at New York University. ³

Bruce founded Down in the County after her work led her to visit to her hometown in Pamlico County which eventually led to her to return to the area in the wake of the county no longer having any local news sources. Her reporting is influenced by previous photojournalism projects focused on democracy in America and emphasizes shared similarities between people despite political differences. ^{3 1}

1. Ali, Maz. “The Search for ‘Our Democracy’ with Photojournalist Andrea Bruce.” CatchLight, February 3, 2023. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://www.catchlight.io/news/2022/10/27/our-democracy-photojournalist-andrea-bruce.
2. “Transparency.” Down in the County. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://downinthecounty.com/transparency.
3. Down in the County. “Authors.” Accessed May 3, 2024. https://downinthecounty.beehiiv.com/authors
4.  Bruce, Andrea. “Introducing the YNTO Snapshots.” Down in the County, July 26, 2022. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://downinthecounty.beehiiv.com/p/introducing-ynto-snapshots.
5. “What We Do.” CatchLight. Accessed May 3, 2024. https://www.catchlight.io/what-we-do.