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Collaboration helps keep independent journalism alive in Venezuela
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Articles by Sophie Culpepper

Sophie Culpepper is a staff writer at Nieman Lab focused on covering local news. She previously co-founded the hyperlocal Lexington Observer, where she reported on public schools, local government, economic development, and public safety among other topics as the digital news nonprofit’s only full-time journalist for two years. She graduated from Brown University in 2021 and was a managing editor on The Brown Daily Herald’s editorial board.
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While the sector is still growing, that growth is slowing, by some metrics. And audience data for 2023 shows that across all outlets surveyed, average monthly web traffic fell.
“Listening is great, and talking to community members is great, but we also have to figure out how to be of use.”
“I see, every week, some example of where the two don’t understand each other. Each of them needs to shift a little bit.”
“We don’t come in when there’s something crazy happening and then leave when it’s over. This is just what we do all the time. And I really hope that makes people trust us more as a newspaper.”
Just 15% of Americans paid or gave money to a local news source in the past year, according to new research from the Pew-Knight Initiative.
“People will pay you to make their lives easier, even when it comes to telling them which burrito to eat.”
“Celestial events tend to draw highly engaged audiences, and this one is no exception.”
“I think sometimes we get stuck in an echo chamber of being around each other a little too much. And I think that can hinder some of this work.”