FORGE Ahead Welcomes Arizona Luminaria
FORGE is proud to welcome Arizona Luminaria to this year’s FORGE Ahead accelerator program.
Based in Tucson, with additional staff in Phoenix, Arizona Luminaria is a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to local news and community-centered journalism. The organization provides deep-dive information for people who are engaged in local civic life or who want to be. Arizona Luminaria's three co-founders, Principal Executive Irene McKisson, Operations Executive Becky Pallack and Executive Editor Dianna M. Náñez, are long-time newspaper journalists. McKisson and Pallack co-founded the popular news site #ThisIsTucson and were among the winners of the 2019 Google News Initiative’s Innovation Challenge. McKisson is an 18-year veteran of local news at the Arizona Daily Star where she started as a sports designer and copy editor before becoming the General Manager of Niche Audience Development. Pallack was a reporter at the Arizona Daily Star and the Arizona Daily Sun and a three-time winner of the Arizona Newspapers Association’s Freedom of Information Award. Náñez is an investigative journalist, narrative writer/editor and storytelling coach whose story of Indigenous and borderlands communities was part of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning Arizona Republic team coverage.
Seeing the journalism industry in total disruption, the team recognized the opportunity to try new models and innovate. They came together in 2021 to start Arizona Luminaria, which they organized as a nonprofit. Arizona Luminaria is part of a growing trend in nonprofit journalism organizations supported by philanthropy and crowdfunding. Around 75 local nonprofit news outlets have launched in the U.S. since 2017, helping to fill information gaps left by shrinking legacy news organizations. Local journalists play a unique and important role in local democracy as the "fourth estate." Recognizing that it’s hard to find in-depth, easy-to-understand information dedicated to the issues Arizonans are passionate about, Arizona Luminaria listens, learns and lights a path for people who want local news that’s a resource for action, equality and democracy.
Pallack has been a participant in the local startup community for several years and has been working on how the lean startup method could transform journalism. “Connect with the local startup community and learn together,” advises Pallack. “I have benefited tremendously from programs like Startup Coffee and Startup Weekend. And find co-founders with complementary skill sets — it's tough to go it alone.” Pallack and the team view FORGE Ahead as an important opportunity to grow their work. “People across our state are living in cities, towns and Indigenous lands where there aren’t enough journalists to shine the light on government and power when it’s not working for the people. Our team wants to identify and test growth models to bring more journalism to more people and places in Arizona."