Our Mission
In today’s fractured media and information landscape where people are more distrusting of traditional media outlets than ever before, millions of Americans are increasingly looking to social media influencers and online content creators for their news—regardless of these creators’ professional backgrounds or expertise. Audiences are drawn to accounts run by people over brands, and, for the first time, more Americans get news from social media than any other source.
More than 3,500 local news outlets have closed in the last 20 years, and legacy media is under attack. Most reporting lives behind expensive paywalls.
As the new trusted voices of our time, content creators have both an outsized influence on shaping public opinion, as well as an outsized responsibility to get the information they are delivering to their audiences right.
By developing talent and community among creators, we are creating new information pipelines to safeguard democracy and dramatically increase the volume of fact-based, locally-centered civic education content online. Our work is informed by a wide-body of research ranging from the correlation of access to local news and increased civic participation to landscape assessments on disinformation-focused and extremist influencers.
News Creator Corps cohorts develop tangible content sourcing, fact-checking, and production skills, as well as real community, in order to keep learning, growing, and expanding their influential work beyond NCC.
Our Team
Rachel Lobdell
Executive Director
Rachel has spent nearly two decades working in local and national news, focusing on editorial strategies that grow audiences by connecting them to content, products, and experiences that help them live their best lives.
Annemarie Dooling
Program Manager
Annemarie has focused on building community around information for 15 years, both independently and in national newsrooms. She studies happiness and information systems at the University of Pennsylvania and writes about culture.
Maya Srikrishnan
Researcher
Maya is a veteran journalist and journalist trainer with over a decade of experience. Her work has appeared in the Center for Public Integrity, Voice of San Diego, and the Los Angeles Times. She also has helped lead training programs for the Asian American Journalists Association and the Diversity Pledge Institute.
Jason Vadnos
Intern
Jason is a current student at Vanderbilt University who serves as both a campus journalist and community-based media literacy educator, with several years of experience designing civic engagement and civil discourse programs for college students. Jason’s work has been featured in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Tennessean.
Advisory Board
Samantha Ragland
Senior Vice President, Journalism Strategy
American Press Institute
Katie Grossbard
Attorney, Impact Strategist and Content Creator
Damon Kiesow
Knight Chair in Journalism Innovation
University of Missouri
Press
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Editor & Publisher:
Arming news creators to battle misinformation
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Creator Spotlight:
Journalism skills every creator should know
Contact Us
We are all part of the information ecosystem, whether that’s as members sharing information or receiving it. We’re building a coalition that’s dedicated to making social platforms a place where audiences can get truthful information, and we’d love for you to join us. We partner with content creators, news organizations, universities, high school classes, nonprofit organizations, and public relations professionals in our programs.
We’d love to hear from you. Please fill out the form below to get in touch about our creator programs, partnerships, supporting our mission, press inquiries, or anything else.