BirminghamWatch is a program of the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism.

About BirminghamWatch

BirminghamWatch is a digitally powered nonprofit news organization produced by AIIJ, covering Birmingham, Alabama—the City Built to Change the South— and greater Jefferson County, striving to serve as a primary resource for those curious about and willing to be part of its story.

BirminghamWatch is dedicated to local reporting on the following topics:

• government performance and transparency;
• education;
• the environment;
• economic development and opportunity;
• health and social equity.

It distributes news and information and connects with citizens through various means, including:

• its website, newsletters and accounts on various social media platforms;
• partnerships with other news organizations (print, electronic, and online);
• collaborations with universities involved in journalism training and research;
• working with civic groups, especially on in-person conversations.

About AIIJ

The Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that aims to serve the civic good of Birmingham and Alabama by supporting journalism that makes a positive impact and encourages citizen engagement with fair, factual, unflinching and focused news.

AIIJ promotes journalism that acts as a watchdog on government and other powerful institutions, highlights significant issues, uncovers solutions, involves the public in its work, and helps to build a better Birmingham and Alabama.

The following core values guide AIIJ:

• a commitment to independence, openness, and recognized ethical standards of journalism
• support for journalists who create thoughtful, probing, and engaging work in a variety of media
• respect for both the standards and purposes of journalism’s best tradition and the inventive and effective tools of the digital present
• to consult, empower and inform readers, listeners, viewers, and followers of the journalism this association supports.