Verite, a newly launched nonprofit news organization in New Orleans, has announced a two-year, $2 million commitment from the Ford Foundation in support of solutions-based coverage of issues affecting underserved communities.

The grant will support the launch with a focus on editorial planning, recruitment, and the hiring of a top-notch team of journalists to cover issues including education, housing, health care, criminal justice, the environment, and politics. Verite also will receive a $350,000 planning grant from the American Journalism Project that will provide tailored support including one-to-one guidance, capacity-building resources, peer-learning opportunities, and other tools to strengthen Verite’s business and revenue operations.

Through partnerships with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other institutions, Verite will connect the dots between the classroom and their professional newsroom by offering internships, fellowships, and mentorship for minority students and training them to join the Verite mission. Recognizing that more than 75 percent of newsroom employees are non-Hispanic whites, Verite’s investment will create a pipeline of talent across the country.

Verite is a sister newsroom of Mississippi Today and will be part of a forthcoming network of mission-driven, local news organizations serving the U.S. South.

“Verite is the culmination of a long-held desire to increase news and information access for underserved communities and elevate journalists of color,” said Verite executive chair Andrew Lack. “I’m thrilled to partner with our distinguished national foundations, supporters, [editor in chief] Terry [Baquet], [Verite executive director] David [Francis], and their team at a time when real local news reporting in our country has never been so important.”

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