The Land, a digital news outlet launched in May 2020 by founder and former executive director of Literary Cleveland Lee Chilcote, is part of a new movement sweeping the country of independent, nonprofit news media, mostly digital, trying to fill the cavernous hole left by the abdication of local print dailies and the general worthlessness of local TV news (Sports! Fires! Car crashes! Shootings! More fires! Cute dog stories!).
Its launch came just a few months after the Plain Dealer let go the remainder (a small remnant of its once large staff) of its tenured reporters to turn the whole operation over to Cleveland.com’s less experienced, overburdened staff. It’s no wonder it feels like half the coverage is sports, most of the rest is crime, and stories such as “73 Questions with Kylie Jenner” replace serious investigation and analysis of issues facing Cleveland and Ohio.
Such smaller outlets cannot, of course, replace what major local dailies once did, but they can do pieces of it, and become part of a network of such publications. And they can provide a training ground for journalists of the future.
“Since The Land’s launch, we’ve made it our mission to produce public-service journalism that you can trust—journalism that informs and strengthens our community, that makes Cleveland a better place to live,” they write. “This is essential work—especially these days—and it would not be possible without the support of readers like you.”
As a nonprofit, of course, they have to raise money. Now they’ve hooked up with NewsMatch, an organization founded in 2016 to support nonprofit journalism. Through December 31, NewsMatch with match a new monthly donation by 12 times and double a one-time donation, up to $1,000.
In return, you’ll get their monthly member newsletter, invitations to special online events, and the change to give input to their staff, maybe even tip them off on a big story happening in your own community.
For more information about making a donation, go to thelandcle.org/newsmatch.