A comprehensive journalism solution for the Shreveport-Bossier community
Why Shreveport-Bossier?
It’s sadly no surprise that small towns across the nation are experiencing the dimming of local news but our reporting uncovered something even darker.
Shreveport-Bossier is Louisiana’s third largest metro area and a regional center of trade and petroleum production. Our statewide team reported on the Shreveport mayoral election and what we uncovered was astounding.
City leaders begging us for local news coverage. Lawsuits against the mayor had gone unreported. No journalists attended city council meetings. Engaged citizens were left in the dark about their local government. A metro area of more than 800,000 people was left bereft of the robust local news reporting it craved and deserved.
Local journalism can bind a community together and bring needed change. The support we’ve received from business and local leaders across the state has allowed us to expand that coverage to the areas that need it most, like our newest venture, The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate.
A team of TEN local journalists
We don’t simply view our newsroom in Shreveport-Bossier as an experiment. We look at it as a bellwether – a model for local journalism that can be replicated in communities large and small across the nation that have become news deserts.
We have proven there is a sustainable business model for local news when readers, businesses, civic groups and philanthropies come together and support it.
In an era of diminished optimism for local journalism, we now have hope and an actionable plan. But subscription and advertising revenue are no longer enough in a diffused media landscape to support the kind of watchdog reporting our communities need and deserve.
Because when it comes to reporting on Shreveport-Bossier, there is and always will be…more work to do.