New York, N.Y. — March 21, 2012 — ProPublica and Digital First Media announced today that they would cooperate in developing local stories across the country leveraging ProPublica’s national news applications databases. Under the agreement, MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company newspapers managed by Digital First Media will have pre-publication access to most ProPublica news applications, enabling them to publish such local stories quickly in their local markets. ProPublica editors and developers will facilitate such stories. In conjunction with this agreement, Digital First Media is making a contribution to ProPublica, which is a non-profit.
Jim Brady, Editor-in-Chief of Digital First Media, said, “As we look to solidify our commitment to local investigative and enterprise journalism, partnering with a world-class organization like ProPublica was a slam-dunk. The ability to work together to localize stories of national importance is something we’re tremendously excited about.”
Richard Tofel, General Manager of ProPublica, said, “ProPublica is delighted to be working with Digital First and the MediaNews and Journal Register newspapers. This agreement will strengthen the impact of ProPublica’s successful news applications, such as Dollars for Docs, by making it easier for leading local news organizations to use ProPublica’s industry-leading news apps as the basis for strong and distinctive local journalism.”
About Digital First Media Digital First Media, is headquartered in New York City, and jointly manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company. Digital First Media reaches 57 million Americans each month through more than 800 multi-platform products across 18 states.
About MediaNews Group, Inc. MediaNews Group, Inc. (www.medianewsgroup.com) is the nation’s second largest newspaper company as measured by circulation, with headquarters in Denver, Colo. MediaNews Group and its affiliated companies publish 57 daily newspapers and more than 100 non-daily publications in 11 states. In addition, MediaNews Group provides programming and operational services for a CBS affiliate in Anchorage, Alaska, and four radio stations licensed to Affiliated Media, Inc. FCC Trust. MediaNews maintains 187 websites.
About Journal Register Company Journal Register Company (www.journalregister.com) is a leader in local news and information in 10 states. The company’s more than 350 multi-platform products reach an audience of 21 million people each month.
About ProPublica ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. In 2010, it was the first online news organization to win a Pulitzer Prize. In 2011, ProPublica won the first Pulitzer awarded to a body of work that did not appear in print. ProPublica is supported primarily by philanthropy and provides the articles it produces, free of charge, both through its own website and to leading news organizations selected with an eye toward maximizing the impact of each article. For more on ProPublica’s news applications, see ProPublica’s Tools and Data pages. For more general information, please visit www.ProPublica.org.
For More Information: Sara Glines Vice President Digital First Media [email protected] (303) 954-6463
Mike Webb Director of Communications ProPublica [email protected] (917) 512-0250
