As a national organization based in Chicago, City Bureau’s programs include our Public Newsroom event series, the Civic Reporting Fellowship for emerging journalists, and Documenters, which was founded in Chicago and is now running in partnership with newsrooms in 17 cities nationwide through our Documenters Network.
Since our launch as an all-volunteer organization in 2016, City Bureau has always been focused on a bold vision for structural change: reimagining journalism as an accessible civic act and a tool for building community power.
The people who power our media movement are the greatest expression of our impact. Locally and nationally, people are making change in their communities and demonstrating the transformative impact of civic media. We’ve seen the impact of City Bureau programs as we track changes in local policy and greater accountability, applaud grants for neighborhood beautification, champion the founding of new newsrooms, and much more.
Here’s a look at some of our inspiring impact stories over the years!
Civic Reporting Fellowship: Shaping the Future of Community Journalism
Samantha Smylie came to City Bureau’s Civic Reporting Fellowship with no formal journalism experience. They are now the State Education Reporter at Chalkbeat Chicago covering daily news, breaking stories, and investigative pieces on K-12 education. They credit the fellowship with giving them a full understanding of what it takes to turn an idea into a news product. They have contributed to the Hyde Park Herald, Block Club Chicago, and the Chicago Reader, and participated in ProPublica’s Data Institute.
Policy Impact: Driving Local Change
In 2020, an investigation we published in partnership with WBEZ revealed stark racial disparities in home lending practices in Chicago by major banks. The story sparked a protest that led Chase Bank to invest $600 million in new home mortgage lending for Black and Latinx families across the city, and prompted policy changes at the city and state level. The story was directly informed by the lived experiences of the reporters: one had worked as a community banker on the South Side, and another’s family had personally navigated racist home lending practices when purchasing his childhood home. It reached a broad audience because of our longstanding partnership with WBEZ, and we organized a free workshop for people looking to move their money into financial institutions that support their communities and align with their values.
Documenters: Equipping People for Civic Action
In November 2022, former Chicago Documenter Sebastián González de León founded the San Pedro Gazette in St. Petersburg, Florida, an independent newsroom with a mission to “create an informed, empowered, and critical public by creating impact-oriented journalism” and was accepted into the Google News Initiative Pre-Launch Lab. His time as a Documenter influenced him and how he shaped the San Pedro Gazette and he’s interested in launching a Documenters site in his community.
In Our Neighborhoods: Building Community Power
In 2022, City Bureau released a special project informed by Civic Reporting Fellows, our Community Benefits Agreement Zine. The zine is a resource guide that explores tools for equitable community development and we have distributed 8,460 copies in English and Spanish. We distributed the zine for free by mail and in person through partnerships with Chicago Public Libraries, mutual aid organizations, community groups, and local businesses. Since its publication, Warehouse Workers for Justice shared copies with community members as an educational and organizing tool, and Ald. Rosanna Rodriguez Sanchez shared English-language guides with community-driven zoning and development partners in the 33rd Ward.
Expanding civic participation for hyper-local impact
Our programs equip people with skills and connections rooted in Chicago and beyond. Learn more here!
We’re in a key moment in our movement to democratize the tools of journalism, and in this past year we thought deeply about how City Bureau can continue to evolve its structure to support our work moving forward.
Dive into our 2023 Annual Report and Yearbook for the full picture on where we’ve been and where we’re going. You’ll see so many familiar faces and see more evidence than ever of the widespread change we can foster by staying rooted in the why of our work.
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