In November 2017, beloved local news sites Gothamist, DCist and LAist abruptly shut down risking the loss of neighborhood storytelling and community reporting in some of the nation's largest metropolises. 

Public Radio Invests in Local Journalism

WNYC (New York), KPCC (Southern California) and WAMU (Washington, D.C.) collaborated to acquire the city-centric websites, story archives, internet domains, and social media assets from Gothamist and DNAinfo. The deal aligns public radio’s service mission of local journalism with the shared traditions of Gothamist, DCist and LAist as trusted neighborhood news services.

Filling the Void

The unique solution comes at a time when local news coverage has seen a rapid decline, even though it is vital for residents to stay connected to their communities. Local coverage can easily be lost in big cities that are generally part of the national news stage.

“As one of the most trusted and reliable news sources serving Washington, D.C., WAMU connects Washingtonians with each other and the world,” said JJ Yore, General Manager of WAMU in a press release announcing the new project. “The addition of DCist expands the breadth of our local content, and increases our digital presence to better serve our community.”

Commitment to Local

Local public radio stations are committed to offering trustworthy non-commercial news and information programming in the areas they serve.

This new project with WNYC, KPCC and WAMU will allow the stations to continue implementing public radio’s mission to engage in civic conversations, build understanding and awareness of local news and support communities in New York, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles respectively.