City Bureau, a journalism lab located in Chicago, has announced a new effort to strengthen the connection between local communities and the journalism that directly reports on them. Through a Kickstarter with a goal of $10,000 from a total of 1,000 donors, the organization hopes to reveal a fully capable newsroom that can be utilized by community members this fall.

“Journalism works better when the people affected by media coverage play a role in creating it,” reads the campaign’s fundraising site. “That’s why City Bureau is building a public newsroom and asking 1,000 of you to be a part of it from the very start.”

Once the goal is reached, City Bureau will open their Woodlawn office once a week to work as a public newsroom for local journalists and media professionals to have a space to collaborate and also work closely with the people they’ll be reporting for.

“For working journalists, the public newsroom is a place to find and shape stories in direct conversation with readers,” reads the KickStarter page. “For the public, the newsroom is a front-row seat into how journalism gets made, and a chance to impact the way their neighborhoods are covered in the media.”

As of this writing, the project has raised nearly $6,800 from just under 350 donors, who will be viewed as founders, with 19 days left to reach its goal.

With journalism moving progressively further from its original function and turning into something new altogether, it’s important to support organizations that are determined to make sure that it still serves the purpose of informing the community. City Bureau is working to, not only do that, but to make the community a direct part of the process.

This is a great organization to support and develop young writers in the Chicago community.

Photo Credit: Darryl Holliday