Some personnel news

When the Washington Post slashed its Metro team — along with almost half its newsroom — we knew we had to kick our ambitions into high gear. We launched our fundraising campaign, originally tied to the two-year anniversary of the DCist shutdown, almost a month early and expanded the goal — instead of two, we’d hire *three* journalists. We had plans to bring on two longtime contributors, but wanted to make room for someone new, too.

Like every step of the way: You are the reason this ambitious plan worked. On the final day of the campaign, we surpassed our goal, raising $375,000 with help from more than a thousand readers like you. Today, we’re here with great news:

Co-founder Abigail Higgins will join The 51st full-time this summer as managing editor. She was an editor at DCist/WAMU and covered labor, gender, health, and poverty for publications including The Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, and The Nation. She’s the First Vice President of the National Writers Union and spent a decade as a foreign correspondent in East Africa. As a fellow at the Georgetown - Howard Center for Medical Humanities and Health Justice, Abby launched our health equity beat.

Next month, another familiar name will come onboard: Reporter Sam Delgado. For the last year, we’ve been just one of Sam’s three (!!) jobs — you might remember her stories on Mt. Pleasant’s sidewalk astronomer Gael Gomez, D.C.’s fishing scene, the history of hand dance, and more. Previously, she was a Future Perfect fellow at Vox, and a production manager for More Perfect Union. Her work has also appeared in Civil Eats and WTOP. Having Sam report for us full-time means we can publish more in-depth local stories about the people and places that make us proud to call D.C. home.

We were so moved by the community response following The Post layoffs. For every social media post mourning the loss, there was a 51st reader ready to encourage residents to support a community alternative. In those weeks and beyond, you’ve helped us to grow by letting people know we’re here — an upstart newsroom working collaboratively to build the alternative our city needs in these high-stakes times.

Now, we need your help again: We’re hiring a reporter! The job description and application instructions are posted now — send the link to your favorite laid-off Post journalist, and beyond.

This is only the beginning. With your help, we plan to continue growing sustainably to build something different — the newsroom D.C. deserves, powered by the people who live here. We’re here for the long run, and these new jobs are a huge step. Thank you, again!