Z. Smith Reynolds grant launches Durham community newspaper

Grant launches community news project

A $25,000 grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation is helping to launch a partnership between the school’s Carolina Community Media Project director Jock Lauterer, the UNC Department of City and Regional Planning assistant professor Mai Nguyen, and the journalism program at N.C. Central University. Faculty and students from both universities are helping the neighborhood create a community newspaper in Northeast Central Durham (NECD).

The newspaper will be staffed by local teens to provide neighborhood news, information, videos, photos and features. With both an online and print edition, the publication will offer this often overlooked community a home-grown, timely source of information unavailable anywhere else from a single source. It will begin as a monthly publication with plans to develop into a bi-weekly.

Young staffers will gain the leadership, problem-solving, and technical skills to effectively use their voices in civic discussions while also expanding their education and career options.