The 51st: Building a worker-led newsroom from the ashes of DCist

This could have been such a sad story — another time when everyone loses their jobs. But this is not a sad story. We’re building something better, something new, something connected to community. That's a happy story.”

Teresa Frontado, co-founder, The 51st

The 51st has set out to redefine local journalism in Washington, D.C., as one of the country’s growing number of worker-led, nonprofit newsrooms. Launched by a team of former DCist and WAMU journalists after the abrupt closure of their hyper-local site in January, the team said it will focus on stories that matter to D.C. residents.

Maddie Poore, one of the co-founders, said the aim is to fill the void left by DCist while creating a more sustainable model for local news that aligns with the goals and needs of newsroom journalists. “When DCist was shut down so quickly, there was a lot of pain and anger. But we started thinking about how to do something that better serves all of us.”

While some of those laid off had to focus on securing full-time gigs, a small group began plotting how to build The 51st. The group decided to create a cooperative, worker-led organization that places decision-making power in the hands of the whole staff, allowing them to shape editorial priorities and business strategies collectively.

The 51st staff (l to r) includes Maddie Poore, Abigail Higgins, Colleen Grablick, Natalie Delgadillo, Teresa Frontado and Eric Falquero. (Photo credit: The 51st)

“We know there’s a better way to work,” said co-founder Teresa Frontado. “I got into journalism to help make a difference in the world. We can do that for the community; that’s what most journalists want to do. And we can do that inside [the newsroom], too.”

The initial group includes Poore, who had worked at WAMU leading membership efforts, and Frontado, WAMU’s executive editor, as well as Eric Falquero, Colleen Grablick, Natalie Delgadillo and Abigail Higgins.

In July, they launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise $250,000 for initial startup costs and test community interest. They received $276,000 from more than 3,000 local donors. “We were inspired by the level of support we received,” said Frontado.

To build a strong foundation for the cooperative, the co-founders took an intensive workshop on building worker-led organizations and reached out to several similar newsrooms for advice and guidance. They spoke with the team at Hell Gate, a subscriber-funded, worker-owned news outlet in New York, and the Los Angeles Public Press, whose mission is service journalism and pays staff equal salaries.

“We are structured a little bit different than other newsrooms where you have a managing editor and people below … there’s this impetus for equality and participation,“ said Frontado. She said the co-founders back each other up in all aspects of running the organization and setting the editorial agenda. 

One of the first things the team did was attend community events across the District to ask residents what kind of news they wanted. Their first stories, published in September, came from insights from those meetings. They plan to continue holding community listening events and aim to establish a committee of community members to help guide the newsroom’s growth.

This photo was taken at the launch party for The 51st this summer. (Photo credit: Abby Higgins)

Their first fundraiser earned enough money to launch the business, allowing them to do their first round of reporting. The team started as all volunteers, and even now, no one is salaried. Compensation is paid at an hourly rate.

The team acknowledges that starting with volunteer commitments and being unable to offer full-time salaries has limited who could join the initial effort. “It’s a privilege to have enough time between freelance work or not to have to focus solely on finding a staff job,” says Poore. “We want to get to a place where we can offer better compensation and have a more diverse team. It’s one of our top concerns.”

Their next priority is to raise $300,000 by the end of the year to address some of those issues and ensure their ability to operate for the first half of 2025.

“This could have been such a sad story — another time when everyone loses their jobs. But this is not a sad story,” said Frontado. “We’re building something better, something new, something connected to community. That's a happy story.”

Diane Sylvester is an award-winning 30-year multimedia news veteran. She works as a reporter, editor, and newsroom strategist. She can be reached at diane.povcreative@gmail.com