The Granite State News Collaborative is a collective of more than 20 local media, education and community partners working together to produce and share news stories on the issues that most affect our state. The hope is that together we can provide more information to more communities across NH than we could individually.
Due to the generosity of local foundation and individual donor support, Collaborative partners, which includes Business NH Magazine , were able to cross-published roughly 1,700 articles between March and December 2020; Collaborative freelancers—many of whom were laid off staffers from local news outlets, recent grads and independent journalists who’d lost work due to the pandemic—produced nearly 400 stories for the partners to share with their communities. We kept a rotating crew of 20 journalists employed, and countless Granite Staters informed when they needed us most. And we're not done yet.
This year, in addition to covering the ongoing impacts of COVID, Collaborative media partners have launched a multi-year examination of race and equity in NH.
As part of our project, The Collaborative and its partners will highlight the stories of people of color in NH and partner with them to amplify their voices. We will investigate the policies and systems in place that have had disproportionately negative impacts on communities of color. We will set out to gather the data that will help analyze where disparities exist, rigorously report the impact of those disparities on our communities and the solutions that may address those areas of concern. Our areas of focus will include policing/criminal justice, economic opportunity, affordable housing, health, education and access to civic engagement.
The funds we raise during NH Gives June 8 and 9 will go directly to paying for reporting, editing, data gathering, translation/interpreting services and management of the project. That work will then be shared with every one of our partners who will distribute that news to you.
Diversity has always been a part of New Hampshire. Today, our state’s diversity is deepening and it’s becoming even more vital to the health of our state’s economy, our institutions and our cities and towns. While we are not as diverse as other states, we are rapidly becoming more so. In short, inequity isn’t a problem for some other state to deal with. It exists here too and it’s ours to solve.
It’s past time to tell this story in a way that’s never been told in New Hampshire. We thank you in advance for your support for this project and for recognizing local journalism’s role in the conversation. Click here to support our project June 8 and 9.
Sincerely,
Melanie Plenda,
Director, Granite State News Collaborative
The partners of the Granite State News Collaborative: The Berlin Daily Sun, Business NH Magazine, The Business Journal of Greater Keene, Brattleboro and Peterborough, The Concord Monitor, The Conway Daily Sun, The Eagle-Times, The Keene Sentinel, The Laconia Daily Sun, Manchester Ink Link, The Marlin Fitzwater Center at Franklin Pierce University, The Nashua Telegraph, NH Bar News, NH Business Review, New Hampshire Press Association, New Hampshire PBS, NH Public Radio, The Monadnock Ledger-Transcript, Seacoast Media Group and The Valley News.
Current Issue - April 2024