ELi Gets More National Attention

Photo by Christa Case Bryant for the Christian Science Monitor of ELi government reporters’ meeting on June 12, 2018, from left: Jessy Gregg, Chris Root, Andrew Graham, and Alice Dreger. Used with permission.

“As local news outlets struggle to survive, citizen-led efforts are stepping up.” That is the lede for a new article about East Lansing Info (ELi), just out from the Christian Science Monitor, an independent international news organization.

The report comes from journalist Christa Case Bryant, who came and spent a long day with members of ELi’s team to see how we do our work. Her story explains the reason for her reporting on ELi:

“The upheaval and financial pressures facing media organizations have left many communities without a local paper. In Michigan, one citizen-journalism initiative is trying to plug the gap by reinventing the model.”

You can read the full article here.

ELi has had a big year of recognition as an innovator in bringing local news to the people. Earlier this year we were the subject of an article in Poynter about how we decide when to say “no,” and we were also featured in a report for the Membership Puzzle Project about engaging citizens in the local journalistic process.

This year, ELi Publisher Alice Dreger also had a widely-shared editorial in The Guardian about the importance of public service news organizations like ELi to cities like East Lansing. The ELi team was also recognized locally this year with a Crystal Award for public service from the City of East Lansing.

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