Alison Go

Please join Chalkbeat and the Google News Initiative for a virtual workshop series highlighting topics from our Local News Field Guide, a resource for news entrepreneurs. We’ll be going in-depth on revenue, audience building, impact, and strategic planning - join us by RSVP’ing at the links below.

In 2013, Chalkbeat was founded with the mission to help provide high-quality education for all children. The theory then, and now, was that independent news laser-focused on education issues was a prerequisite for thriving schools, and that since schools are inherently local, then the journalism must be local, too.

Four years ago, I joined the team at Chalkbeat because I knew this was a special place. At a time when most news organizations were shrinking, Chalkbeat was achieving the miraculous — steadily growing while holding firm to a public interest mission that served students, parents, and communities. What I’ve learned since is that this success has not come instantly or easily.