About Us
BirminghamWatch is a digital-based news organization and program of the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism (AIIJ). AIIJ is a non-profit and 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.
Our goal is to promote 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.
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.
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 mediums;
- 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.