States Newsroom

While many newspapers and other news outlets have had to reduce staff and often coverage of their state governments, States Newsroom and its 26 affiliates have stepped into that role to focus on in-depth coverage of state legislatures and regulatory agencies.

Chris Fitzsimon, director and publisher of States Newsroom

“States Newsroom was launched because we recognized an opportunity to provide local citizens with more reporting about their state governments as well as stories other media are unable to cover,” said Chris Fitzsimon, director and publisher of States Newsroom. “What makes us the proudest is our coverage allows community newspapers to focus on local news. Approximately 1,000 of these local papers request several thousand reprints of our articles every month.”

The growth of States Newsroom has also created new opportunities for editors and journalists. Sherman Smith, editor of Kansas Reflector in Topeka, Kansas, and Marisa Demarco, editor of Source New Mexico, are two of these highly experienced, award-winning professional journalists who were immediately attracted to States Newsroom.

Sherman Smith, editor-in-chief, Kansas Reflector in Topeka, Kansas (Photo by Thad Alton/Kansas Reflector)

Smith had worked at The Topeka Capital-Journal for 16 years. Smith’s professional goal, however, was to head a digital news outlet within five years. When Gannett, the parent company of the Capital-Journal, asked many of its staff, including Smith, to take a leave, the opportunity with States Newsroom presented itself. During the brief history of Kansas Reflector (launched in July 2020), Sherman has already been recognized for his reporting, having received the Kansas Press Association’s journalist of the year.

“It’s such a rare opportunity because we didn’t have to worry about the resources; States Newsroom takes care of that. We can focus on just doing journalism,” said Smith.

Demarco, like Smith, has had an exceptional career as a journalist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and as a reporter for KUNM, a nonprofit public radio station.

Marisa Demarco, editor-in-chief, Source New Mexico

“I was approaching 20 years of being a full-time journalist, and I thought, ‘I don't know, maybe I should stop.’ This was putting much wear and tear on my life. It was consuming my whole life during the pandemic,” said Demarco. “Suddenly, this opportunity emerged, and I just thought I could create the kind of newsroom, the kind of reporting and news environment I always wished for my career.”

Source New Mexico launched during August 2021, and Demarco says it has been an excellent experience for her and her staff. They have great latitude in deciding which state issues and stories to cover. For example, they decided to include a Native America section on the Source New Mexico website because of the state's large population of indigenous peoples.

As a nonprofit operation, States Newsroom relies on donations, some of which come from foundations, but generally, they are from individuals who read their state affiliates’ content.

“We have begun the next phase of our expansion, having recently added a Nebraska affiliate, the Nebraska Examiner,” said Fitzsimon. “We’re on target to have a total of 40 affiliates by mid-2024.”

Bob Sillick has held many senior positions and served a myriad of clients during his 47 years in marketing and advertising. He has been a freelance/contract content researcher, writer, editor and manager since 2010.  He can be reached at bobsillick@gmail.com.