The Local Journalism Initiative of Delaware recently announced the launch of its new Delaware Journalism Collaborative, a statewide partnership of local news organizations and community groups that are committed to working together to improve access to high-quality local news and information.

For its first two years, the collaborative will focus on uniting Delaware communities driven apart by polarization. The DJC will apply a solutions journalism approach focused on identifying challenges and working to address them.

The DJC will conduct reporting and lead community conversations about the reasons behind the increasing divides over issues like politics, race, class and more, and focus on how people and organizations can work together more effectively to address community challenges. The collaborative will provide high-quality, factual coverage that increases the public’s trust in news sources.

While the collaborative is expected to grow and evolve, inviting other partners to join, the initial partners are: Cape Gazette, Delaware Business Now, Delaware Business Times, Delaware Call, Delaware Community Foundation, Delaware Libraries, Delaware Independent, Delaware LIVE, DelawareOnline/The News Journal, Delaware Public Media/WDDE, Delaware State News/BayToBayNews.com, DETV, Local Journalism Initiative, Larry Nagengast, freelance writer/editor, Out & About Magazine, TELEDUCTION/Hearts and Minds Film, WDEL and WHYY.

Journalism from the collaborative will be shared among the partners, on the Local Journalism Initiative website, through social media and on other platforms to be determined.

The collaborative is funded by a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Solutions Journalism Network’s Local Media Project.

The Delaware Journalism Collaborative is one of 14 collaboratives around the country working to build trust in all segments of the communities they serve, and stimulate public conversations about key issues. The DJC is in the process of hiring a project manager to guide its work.

More information about the journalism and community conversations will be available soon at ljidelaware.org/collaborative. The Local Journalism Initiative of Delaware is a 501c3 nonprofit organization currently operating its programs through a fiscal sponsorship fund at the Delaware Community Foundation.