Looking Ahead: What Dallas Free Press has planned in 2021
Newsletter
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We’ll always wear our “Est. in 2020” label as a badge of honor. And we greatly appreciate your support in sustaining us to 2021.
Though we’re grateful for so many things that happened this year, we’re much more excited about what’s to come:
• The launch of our food apartheid series, a collaboration with the Dallas Morning News that, because of veteran reporter Sujata Dand‘s leadership, will not be satisfied until the rocks are turned over to uncover true problems and steps toward solutions.
• The continuation of our internet access reporting, also headed by Sujata Dand, with more probing into whether millions of dollars and sincere efforts are bridging Dallas’ digital divide.
• The responses to our survey on Dallas news consumption and local media coverage, which will inform both our community journalism in South Dallas and West Dallas, and a future Dallas media collaborative.
• The formation of the Dallas media collaborative, hopefully in late spring, with support from the national Solutions Journalism Network as we shine several flashlights on stubborn issues that plague our city.
• A doubling down on civic engagement in West Dallas and South Dallas, with easy-to-follow zoning reports and digestible toolkits on complex topics.
• A deep dive into the history of Dallas’ Black schools with our partner Amber Sims of the Imagining Freedom Institute, whose passion and persistence has unearthed crucial stories.
• A new approach to finding and fostering future Dallas journalists, especially in places where students haven’t been given reason to believe their communities’ stories matter.
• Plus some surprises along the way, with partnerships in unexpected places and storytelling that veers from tradition.
Please join us for the journey! Whether your support comes in the form of financial gifts or faithful attention, we hope to give you even more reasons to celebrate with us in 2021 as we all work “to become the Dallas we keep talking about.”
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Keri Mitchell has spent 20+ years as a community journalist, including 15 years dedicated to community and civic journalism at Dallas’ Advocate magazines. She launched Dallas Free Press in early 2020 with the belief that all neighborhoods deserve reporting and storytelling that values their community and holds leaders accountable.
Mitchell says she is energized by “knowing our work is making an impact — listening to people, telling their stories with strong narratives paired with compelling data that leads to change. I also love spending time in our neighborhoods and with our neighbors, learning from them and working to determine how journalism can be part of the solution to their challenges.”
Mitchell is proud to be the winner of multiple awards during her journalism career including: Finalist in Magazine Feature Reporting (2018) and Finalist in Magazine Investigative Reporting (2017) from Hugh Aynesworth Excellence in Journalism, Best Feature Story (2011) from Texas Community Newspaper Association and Best Magazine Feature (2011) from Dallas Bar Association Philbin Awards.
Areas of Expertise:
local government, education, civic issues, investigative and enterprise reporting
Location Expertise:
Dallas, Texas
Official Title:
Founder + executive director
Email Address:
keri@dallasfreepress.com
