Fostering civic participation and community resilience through journalism with Baltimore Beat’s Lisa Snowden

Local News Matters

Lisa Snowden, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Baltimore Beat, shares her journey from being a reporter to running a Black-led newsroom dedicated to covering Baltimore’s diverse communities. She discusses the challenges and opportunities of sustaining a nonprofit news outlet, supported by a seven-figure donation that helped stabilize the Beat after its initial struggles as a for-profit venture. Lisa emphasizes the importance of intentional, community-centered journalism that aims to elevate underrepresented voices and provide a nuanced perspective on Baltimore’s complex social issues.

She also delves into the dynamics of diversity within newsrooms, the need to foster an inclusive environment, and the unique challenges Black-led media face in navigating networks of power. Lisa highlights the Baltimore Beat’s approach to journalism as a means of empowering residents through trustworthy storytelling and tangible community engagement, such as the Beat Box initiative distributing both newspapers and essential goods.

With reflections on the current state of local news, Lisa offers insights into maintaining sustainable and impactful reporting amidst an ever-changing media landscape, particularly for underserved audiences.

Episode chapters:

(00:02:40) - Origins of Baltimore Beat and Lisa’s journalism journey

(00:09:42) - Financial planning after a seven-figure donation

(00:12:35) - Baltimore’s diverse communities and the need for another news source

(00:17:41) - Sustainably reaching underserved audiences and the role of print

(00:23:29) - Diversity challenges in newsrooms and fostering inclusion

(00:34:22) - Black publishers and navigating networks of power

(00:40:31) - Transitioning to leadership and lessons in entrepreneurship

(00:50:37) - Rapid-fire questions

(01:02:32) - Media and local recommendations

Links:

• Lisa Snowden: Linkedln,Twitter/X

• Baltimore Beat

• Mentioned

• Towson University

• Baltimore Sun

• LION Publishers

• The Real News Network

• Baltimore Museum of Art

• Baltimore AFRO American Newspapers

• Baltimore Times

• Episode with Sara Lomax and S. Mitra Kalita of URL Media

• Local recommendations

• Nick's Fish House

• Koco’s Pub

• Think beyond the inner harbor

• Media recommendations

• News For All the People by Juan Gonázlez and Joseph Torres

• Capital B

• Outlier Media

• MLK 50

• The TRiiBe

• Local News Matters: web, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

• Pirate Audio

• Colorado Press Association: web, Twitter, Facebook

• Tim Regan-Porter: bio, Twitter

For show notes, transcripts, newsletter sign-up and past guests on the Local News Matters podcast, please visit localnewsmatterspodcast.com or lnmpod.com.

Past guests on the Local News Matters podcast include: Karen Rundlet (INN), Jim Brady (Knight Foundation), Candice Fortman (Exit interview, Outlier Media), Jean Friedman-Rudovsky (Resolve Philly), Jay Rosen (NYU), Sue Cross (Exit interview, INN), Mary Margaret White (Mississippi Today), Amy Kovac-Ashley (Tiny News Collective), Michael Shapiro (TAPinto), Kenny Katzgrau (redbankgreen and Broadstreet), John Garrett (Community Impact), Shannon Kinney (Dream Local Digital), Larry Ryckman (The Colorado Sun), Frank Mungeam (Local Media Association), Kelly Ann Scott (Alabama Media Group), Sara Lomax and S. Mitra Kalita (URL Media), Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro (National Trust for Local News), Mike Rispoli and Richard Young (via When the People Decide), Sarabeth Berman (American Journalism Project), Rabbi Hillel Goldberg and Shana Goldberg (Intermountain Jewish News), Lyndsay C. Green (via The Journalism Salute), Rashad Mahmood and Mark Glaser (New Mexico Local News Fund), Christian Vanek and Barbara Hardt (The Mountain-Ear), Dan Grech (BizHack), Zack Richner (Easy Tax Credits), Tracie Powell (Pivot Fund), Dan Oshinsky (Inbox Collective), Linda Shapley (via What Works), Yehong Zhu and Jake Seaton (Zette, Column), Charity Huff (January Spring), Joaquin Alvarado and Dave Perry (Aurora Sentinel), Steve Waldman (Rebuild Local News), Maritza Félix (Conecta Arizona), Michael Bolden (American Press Institute), Jeff Roberts and Corey Hutchins (CFOIC, Colorado College), Eve Pearlman and Erica Anderson (Spaceship Media), Jennifer Brandel (Hearken, Democracy SOS), Corey Hutchins with Bay Edwards, Todd Chamberlain and Raleigh Burleigh (Sopris Sun).