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Credit: Design by Jack Spatafora<\/p>\nCredit: Design by Jack Spatafora<\/p>\n
Every day, folks across the Tampa Bay area wake up and seek information that shapes their movements, views and thinking.<\/p>\n
Some of the questions are easy.<\/p>\n
What do I wear for this weather? What does my commute look like? What do I do with my weekend or the extra money burning a hole in my pocket?<\/p>\n
Others are more consequential.<\/p>\n
Can we afford groceries? Can we afford rent? What\u2019s happening in our neighborhood? Who should I vote for, and why?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s one question people should never have to ask themselves: Can I afford the information I need to understand my own community?<\/p>\n
There are statistics aplenty supporting the importance of local journalism, including these from Pew Research Center<\/a>:<\/p>\n 81% of those who closely follow local news are likely to vote<\/p>\n 85% of U.S. adults view local news outlets as important to their community\u2019s well-being<\/p>\n About 71% of people trust local media to report news accurately<\/p>\n 61% believe it does a good job keeping an eye on local political leaders<\/p>\n There are even nifty slogans about journalism like the one Jeff Bezos\u2019 paper adopted in 2017: Democracy Dies in Darkness\u201d<\/p>\n But if journalism is that important, why does so much of it end up behind paywalls?<\/p>\n Why is journalism treated like a commodity when it should be treated as a basic need for any community that seeks to have healthy residents?<\/p>\n Why are we asking people to make the same calculation they make about groceries or medicine just to understand their own community?<\/p>\n When journalism is treated like a commodity, it opens the door for misinformation to thrive.<\/p>\n When people are charged to drink from the well of good information, they quench their thirst with bad-faith blogs and social media feeds succumbing to trends in the hopes of attracting eyeballs and earholes.<\/p>\n That is no way for people to live.<\/p>\n Creative Loafing Tampa Bay (aka CL), now under new local ownership<\/a>, hopes to do its part to change that with the Tampa Bay Journalism Project.<\/p>\n For too long, too many news organizations have treated each other like competition. CL has always known that to be untrue. We are better together\u2014and Tampa Bay is stronger as a community when every outlet is the best version of itself.<\/p>\n Because while journalism hasn\u2019t disappeared or come under attack to the degree the doomsayers describe, access to it has become more limited.<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Journalism Project (TBJP) is built around a coalition of non-paywalled, community-centric publications that have made their content available to share with TBJP partners who are all free to repackage and re-share the stories for their unique audiences, on their unique platforms, thus expanding access to local journalism for all.<\/p>\n Current partners include:<\/p>\n The only barriers to accessing the stories are someone\u2019s ability to read, internet connection, access to radio, or proximity to a newsstand.<\/p>\n A common thread between each of the partner newsrooms are their small staffs, all deeply dedicated to, and invested in, the communities they cover and live in.<\/p>\n Each TBJP newsroom maintains its independence, but benefits from the shared resources of the collective.<\/p>\n And Creative Loafing Tampa Bay wants to do more to contribute\u2014but we need help.<\/p>\n A $750,000 capital campaign is underway to help expand CL\u2019s newsroom, which grew from two to three editorial staffers after being purchased by employees and two new partners last January.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tax-deductible contributions to Tampa Bay Journalism Fund\u2019s fiscal sponsor, the Alternative News Foundation, will help CL pay for three additional reporter-editors and a staff photographer, each on two-year contracts, with wages that allow them to live in the community they cover.<\/p>\n News reporter<\/p>\n Arts & Entertainment editor<\/p>\n Food & Drink Critic-Editor<\/p>\n Staff photographer<\/p>\n Funds raised will also pay for legal fees, public records requests, dining, and fees for a local artist or designer to create each cover of the CL print edition that hits stands each week.<\/p>\n All the work CL staffers and freelancers create will be available to TBJP partners who will meet regularly with each other and the community to discuss coverage needs and ideas.<\/p>\n People shouldn\u2019t have to decide whether they can afford the information they need to understand their own lives. A more accessible model\u2014where local journalism is not just supported, but made available to all\u2014is possible.<\/p>\n The Tampa Bay Journalism Project is our attempt to get that done.<\/p>\n Donations\u2014including those from a DAF, stock, crypto, or cash\u2014to the Tampa Bay Journalism Project are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.<\/p>\n More information is available via altnewsfoundation.org<\/a>. Ask more questions, or meet with our publisher, James Howard, and Editor-In-Chief, Ray Roa, by sending an email<\/a>.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll keep updating this post with FAQs and advanced messaging as our project evolves.<\/p>\n Please join us on Friday, March 20 when we discuss the idea of non-paywalled journalism with Cafe Con Tampa<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n This article appears in Mar. 12 \u2013 18, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t