Journalists from nine news outlets in Detroit have joined forces to tackle the trenchant issues of race, poverty and power that continue to hobble that city’s climb out of bankruptcy.
Launched last week, the ambitious, seven-part series will continue with in-depth investigations and special reports contributed by journalists in a unique multiracial media collaboration called the Detroit Journalism Cooperative (DJC), which Renaissance Journalism helped to organize more than two years ago.
A “Grand Bargain” dreamed up by a federal judge and funded by a covey of foundations has helped to rescue the city of Detroit from bankruptcy and $18 billion in debts. Now comes the hard part: rebuilding the public’s trust in government and the schools, repairing frayed relations among various racial and other groups, and wooing new residents, businesses and investors.
That means changing people’s perceptions about Detroit, making people believe that it is the place to be, rather than to flee. How journalists portray Detroit as it emerges from bankruptcy will have a big impact on the public’s perceptions, not just locally, but nationally as well.
Renaissance Journalism has selected 31 talented journalists to participate in its national fellowship program aimed at addressing the educational opportunity gap.
The Equity Reporting Project: Restoring the Promise of Education seeks to stimulate in-depth reporting and robust community engagement about the profound disparity in access to educational resources and opportunities — both inside and outside of schools — between the rich and the poor.
