Community Voices ⎸ Project Optimist joins The 19th News Network

Project Optimist has joined The 19th News Network!

The network, run by the nonprofit news organization The 19th, includes more than 100 media organizations that "seek to advance racial and gender equity in politics and policy journalism," according to the website.

What does this mean for Project Optimist?

The partnership will help us in a few ways:
• We will get early access to stories from The 19th in case we want to republish them,
• We can ask staff from The 19th to edit our work, or see if they have visuals that will make our stories stronger,
• We can pitch Project Optimist stories to The 19th, which they may publish and make available to the rest of the network,
• And we have the opportunity to co-report stories with staff from The 19th.

Why did Project Optimist pursue this partnership?

We applied to join The 19th News Network because Project Optimist aligns with the network's values and mission.

The collective's members prioritize equity, transparency and ethics, and factual storytelling. These publishers pursue stories that focus on issues that are "undercovered," that serve LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and/or women, and want to connect with their communities.

What happens next?

We don't have any firm plans yet.

We will keep an eye out for content from The 19th and our network partners that we can republish.

We'll also keep The 19th in mind if there's a Project Optimist story we think might be a good fit for them to republish.

Reach out to me with any questions you have: jen@projectoptimist.news.