The Land is a local, nonprofit news organization that reports on Cleveland’s neighborhoods. Through in-depth solutions journalism, we aim to foster accountability, inform the community, and inspire people to take action.
During the early days of 2020 as the world was coming to grips with a global pandemic, our founding team realized a new kind of newsroom was needed: one to fill the gap left by disruptions in local media organizations as a result of changed business models and underreporting and inaccurate reporting of Cleveland neighborhoods over many decades. The Land began with a mission to create an outlet that truly puts Cleveland first.
Founder Lee Chilcote and visionary supporters had big ambitions but started small. With the fiscal sponsorship of the Institute for Nonprofit News, and the generosity of individuals, small grants, and underwriters, the small team launched a website and newsletter to test the idea of a nonprofit newsroom and to seek feedback from the community about what would best serve them. The feedback was that a new kind of newsroom was needed, one with the community at its core and grounded in principles of diversity, equity and inclusion. The Land began hiring freelance reporters to cover local government and the impact of COVID-19 on Cleveland’s neighborhoods while engaging in an audience-centered approach of constantly seeking feedback.
Today, we’ve created an outstanding nonprofit organization, built an engaged board, and trained more than fifty residents as community journalists who are reporting on neighborhoods across Cleveland.
We hope you find our work valuable and you will choose to support us by becoming a member, keeping our journalism free for all.
Our approach
On-the-ground reporting
- We are dedicated to strengthening our city by publishing balanced, well-researched news.
- We are committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in our newsroom and our coverage.
- We focus on accountability and solutions journalism.
Civic engagement
- Our stories are in-depth and offer resources for getting involved.
- We report on solutions that help people to improve their lives and neighborhoods.
- With reporting that reaches out to a multitude of residents and community leaders, we help to foster civic engagement.
Elevate community voices
- Through our community journalism program, we train and pay Cleveland residents to research and write stories about their neighborhoods.
- Our on-the-ground reporting examines how issues affecting Northeast Ohio impact people’s lives.
- Through community engagement, we elevate marginalized voices such as communities of color, low-income people and LGBTQ+ communities that are not as often seen and heard in traditional media.
Collaboration
- We work with other media organizations to report and plan coverage collaboratively.
- We encourage other media to “steal our stories” as long as they credit The Land.
- We share stories from other media organizations across the city on thelandcle.org and through our social channels.
Our team
Chris Mosby, Executive Director
Chris is an award-winning writer and editor. His work has been published by Patch.com, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Yahoo, MSN, and more. He is a previous president of the Society of Professional Journalists in Cleveland and a frequent guest lecturer at Northeast Ohio colleges. He lives in Cleveland Heights with his family.
Conner Howard, Managing Editor
A lifelong Ohioan and transplant from Columbus to Cleveland, Conner has been a professional communicator and journalist since 2012. Getting his start as a general assignment reporter for the now-defunct Record Publishing Company, he went on to work for regional brands including GIE Media, Crain Communications and more. He looks forward to supporting and advancing The Land’s mission of empowering marginalized voices, encouraging civic engagement and spotlighting impactful issues. Conner lives in Parma with his wife, as well as his cat and parrotlet.
Faith Boone, Editorial Consultant
Faith Boone, is the founder and lead consultant for Boone Logic. Her work has been featured in the Plain Dealer, Sun News, Cleveland.com, Northeast Ohio Parent, and more. She is currently a vice president of the Society of Professional Journalists in Cleveland and a mentor for The Land’s Community Journalism program. Faith is a staunch advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion. She’s dedicated to supporting community initiatives that align with her values and mission, actively contributing to non-profit boards.
Editorial independence policy
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services, or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants, and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards. For more information, please see our transparency policy.
How we choose stories
Our mission is to report on news that affects Cleveland neighborhoods and Clevelanders, so that’s our starting point for whether a story is a fit for The Land.
In addition, we consider:
- Is the story in one of our core coverage areas of economic development, government, community development, health and social equity, or environmental impact? We can’t cover everything, and we don’t try. Typically, we leave breaking news, criminal justice reform, education, service journalism (“how-to’s”), and news outside of Cleveland to other outlets.
- Is it newsworthy? If we’ve covered this before, what’s new here, and how does it impact our readers?
- Does it do more than point out a problem? Can the story put the problem in its greater context – why the problem exists and, ideally, what solutions are possible in Cleveland? We’re not just whistleblowers. Whenever possible, we’re solutions seekers.
- Does the story impact everyday Clevelanders and neighborhoods? We strive to explore and explain why our stories matter to residents and to include resident voices. Please reach out if you have any story tips, suggestions, or questions. We want you to tell us, and we count on you to help us cover the stories that matter.
