If you’ve been tuning in to WSLR News: Grassroots Reporting From Southwest Florida, you know we’ve come a long way since January.
How have we grown? We’ve …
- invested in funding our first ever full-time News Director, who oversees our coverage and mentors our New College journalism interns and volunteer citizen reporters.
- expanded WSLR News from one half-hour weekly broadcast to two half-hour weekly broadcasts and a Week in Review half-hour segment on Saturdays.
- prominently featured local news on our website homepage with links to transcriptions of all stories.
- podcasted each edition, with an opportunity to subscribe; individual stories are also podcasted and shared on social media.
- sent out a weekly e-newsletter highlighting our top stories and linking to the podcast. You can subscribe here.
- reported stories of grassroots activism and interviewed newsmakers not often covered by other local media.
- partnered with The Bradenton Times, which is now sharing its weekly podcast every Sunday to keep listeners up-to-date with what’s happening in Manatee County.
- participated in the Community News Collaborative funded by the Barancik Foundation, which provides us with additional local content for our listeners.
And in 2024, we will be presenting a series of Citizen Journalism Workshops (led by our in-house team) and Public Newsroom panels featuring experts and veteran journalists! Topics will include “The Local Media and Me,” “Introduction to Community Journalism,” “Thinking Like a Journalist,” “Ethics and Law,” “Working a Beat” and “Community News and Democracy.”
Of course, we will continue to produce The Critical Times, our quarterly publication focused on issues of civil liberties, civil rights, labor, environmental issues, local and state politics, and activism.
You can support our local news expansion by making a donation to our Giving Tuesday Campaign. Help us to help you stay informed about local news that matters!
