Miscellaneous
When billionaire Joe Ricketts of TD Ameritrade and Chicago Cubs fame in 2017 shut down digital news network DNAInfo, Stephanie Lulay and two of her colleagues didn't scatter to other industries. They co-founded Block Club Chicago, a hyperlocal nonprofit news site dedicated to granular coverage of the Windy City's storied neighborhoods. The site launched in summer 2018 after a record-setting Kickstarter campaign that raised $183,000 from 3,000 backers. Lulay, managing editor, trusts her reporters to live and embed themselves in their neighborhoods and largely set the agenda for what they cover. One crucial component: Block Club doesn't focus only on crime and other sensationalism. The site's stories span everything from potholes to serious police misconduct. Block Club Chicago is published on the Civil platform, a digital news network on the blockchain. In this episode of Journalists Are My Heroes, Stephanie talks about her career path into hyperlocal news, how her site approaches coverage, and the newsroom's prospects for long-term sustainability. Please subscribe, rate and review us wherever you listen to podcasts. And find and support us on the Anchor network. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/journalistsaremyheroes/support