General

Meet the people behind BirminghamWatch

The journey to creating Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism and BirminghamWatch is a story about many things. It's about Birmingham's need for news that asks important questions and searches for trustworthy answers. It's about pushing against a tide, and putting more reporters to work covering school boards, digging through data, and informing voters. It's about working with other Birmingham news organizations that share this mission. Today, I want to tell our story in a personal way, by introducing people behind it. AIIJ's directors share a common passion for good journalism. They stepped up to do hard work in founding a nonprofit news organization.

A Message from AIIJ Founders

Why are we doing this? What can our fledgling non-profit news organization contribute to journalism for Birmingham and Alabama?

Those may be your first two questions if you are meeting BirminghamWatch, and its sponsor Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism, for the first time.

Donor Policy

Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism and BirminghamWatch recognize that the value of their work depends on commitment to journalistic values and the editorial independence of its editors and reporters. In seeking and accepting financial support, Alabama Initiative will follow practices that protect these values.

Ethics Statement

Seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, be accountable and transparent. These are the anchors of Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. Journalists working with BirminghamWatch and Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism will be guided by the SPJ Code of Ethics. Read the complete Code of Ethics here.

About The Board

The Board  is the policy-making and oversight body of AIIJ. Members are Brett Blackledge, Brant Houston, Mark Kelly, Jerome Lanning, Carol Nunnelley, Emily Jones Rushing, and Odessa Woolfolk. Brant Houston, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting in the department of journalism at the University of Illinois. Prior to

The Lens in New Orleans and ProPublica

Please read more here http://projects.propublica.org/louisiana/.