About Us - BirminghamWatch

About

BirminghamWatch launched in 2015 as the digitally-powered online nonprofit, nonpartisan news operation of the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism. It produces journalism for Birmingham, AL, The City Built to Change the South, and Jefferson County. It strives to be an invaluable resource for the community’s civically curious.


BirminghamWatch is dedicated to local reporting on the following topics:

Government Performance and Transparency
Education
Environment
Economic Development and Opportunity
Health and Social Equity
Arts and Culture Throughout the City and County

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

Various electronic and print options, including its website, newsletters, and accounts on various social media platforms
Collaborations with universities involved in journalism training and research
Partnerships with other news organizations (print, electronic, and online)
Working with civic groups, especially in in-person conversations

The AIJJ 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.