Sentinel's migrant shelter reporting featured in national list of 'amazing stories'

TucsonSentinel.com's in-depth reporting on Pima County's controversial decision to set up a shelter for migrants at the juvenile detention center was included in a list of the best local journalism that's "reshaping the news."

Our work "exposed the behind-the-scenes maneuvering involved in creating an Arizona shelter for asylum-seekers newly released by immigration authorities. The reporting resulted in a more open process, including a special Board of Supervisors meeting," wrote Joshua Stearns, the director of the Democracy Fund's Public Square Program, in an assessment of how local nonprofit news organizations like TucsonSentinel.com are "working to rebuild journalism that serves the public interest."

Stearns picked "24 amazing stories" reported by some of the top nonprofit news organizations in the country, highlighting the Sentinel among them as he detailed the impact and importance of supporting local news. The Democracy Fund is one of the backers of the NewsMatch program, which is DOUBLING every donation to TucsonSentinel.com through the end of December.

The Sentinel's probing reporting on the topic was also included in "The Best of Nonprofit News" for 2019 by the Institute for Nonprofit News.

TucsonSentinel.com carried out a month-long investigation into Pima County's approval of converting a vacant juvenile detention center into a shelter for migrant families legally seeking asylum.

The controversial proposal had Black Lives Matter activists decrying what they said is "white saviorism" while the Republican county sheriff backed the plan and said members of the GOP who opposed it "say that they're Christians. That's not the Christian faith that I recognize."

Staffers and volunteers for other faith-based groups, including a shelter operated by the United Methodists, spoke against the plan for the county to fund the shelter run by Catholic Community Services, and a pivotal Democratic county supervisor was on-again, off-again in his support until ultimately voting in favor.

Because of TucsonSentinel.com's focused reporting on the issue, the county Board of Supervisors held a special meeting to vote on the issue — and added a public comment period when we questioned why one was not on the agenda.

In his piece, published by Buzzfeed, Stearns wrote:

The growing impact of nonprofit news is critical because around the country at least 1,300 communities have lost their local commercial newspapers, and many more are served by newsrooms half the size they once were. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics newsrooms are shrinking faster that coal mining, fishing and steel production. When communities lose local news they lose access to critical local information, they lose a watchdog that holds local leaders accountable, and they lose a forum for civil debate and discussion.

In 2019, local reporting and investigative journalism by nonprofit newsrooms has saved lives, revealed corruption, and sparked meaningful change. The Institute of Nonprofit News has collected more than 100 examples of powerful reporting that addresses urgent issues facing our communities and our nation. I highlight 24 of them below, with descriptions lightly edited for length and clarity.

This kind of reporting is urgent. It serves communities and changes lives, and now more than ever we all have a role to play in its future. That's why I work with NewsMatch.org, which helps readers find and support the non-profit newsrooms covering the issues and communities they care about.

Your gift doubled!

Real reporting from TucsonSentinel.com is the antidote for fake news — and right now, your gift to support nonprofit independent local journalism will be matched, dollar-for-dollar!

Give your tax-deductible gift today — and through the end of the year, every donation (up to $1,000 per individual) will be doubled by NewsMatch, an important initiative to strengthen selected nonprofit newsrooms funded a group of national foundations. This is a great opportunity to help us produce more of the award-winning accountability journalism you have come to expect from TucsonSentinel.com.

That's right: each dollar you give to support truly local independent journalism about Tucson will be matched. And even better, if you sign up right now to give monthly, each dollar you give through all of 2020 will be matched. Pitch in just $20 per month to our experienced local reporters, and NewsMatch will give $240 to TucsonSentinel.com's work.

We've been around for almost a decade (10 years!) — yes, our tenth birthday will be in January. And we want to grow, and bring you and the rest of Tucson and Pima County even more deep-digging, bone-gnawing watchdog journalism. This year, we were among three finalists for Publisher of the Year among small local news websites across the country. And we were up for a Technology Innovation award sponsored by Facebook, and a national Breaking News award from LION Publishers. And it's with your help that Sentinel senior reporter Paul Ingram was named the Community Journalist of the Year by the Arizona Press Club, and we swept our division in the state's Breaking News awards! And we've got even bigger plans — there are so many other untold stories we'd dig into if we had even more reporters.

This is the type of journalism that just cannot wait. If we don't tell these stories, who will?

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For a small newsroom like ours, NewsMatch is a game-changer. These funds not only sustain our current reporting efforts, but will allow us to add reporters and expand our coverage—at a time when legacy news chains controlled by hedge funds and conglomerates are slashing staff at an alarming rate (and are poised to cut even more).

Funds raised from this campaign go toward supporting journalism which strengthens our democracy. Every day, journalists in nonprofit newsrooms like TucsonSentinel.com dig deeper into the raw news of the day to deliver in-depth and investigative reporting that engages communities, advances solutions, and demands accountability. Our journalism informs. Our journalism matters. And our journalism is worth supporting.

This news can’t wait. So why would you?

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