About Us

The 51st is a worker-led nonprofit news source for D.C. We believe that all D.C. residents deserve a more equitable and just place to live, and our reporting is rooted in our conviction that local journalism is meant to make people’s lives better.

We pursue stories that hold leaders to account, demystify opaque city and civic processes, and celebrate the idiosyncrasies that make us proud to call D.C. home. Put simply, we make it easier – and more fun — to live in the District.

How we got here

The 51st was co-founded by six former DCist and WAMU employees. In February 2024, WAMU executives shut down the DCist website, laying off 16 talented journalists and other staff — and wiping years of D.C. history from the internet. 

As we watched our former workplace join a growing list of news outlets ruined by C-suites, a team of alum started asking questions: What if a newsroom was run by…the people in the newsroom? What if journalists had the ability to pursue stories that truly engaged with the community’s needs?  In July 2024, we launched a successful crowdfunding campaign to make The 51st a sustainable, worker-led nonprofit – and we’ve been growing ever since.

Ethics and Independence

We maintain full editorial control over the content we choose to publish, and we do not allow financial considerations – including support from individuals, businesses, foundations, or other sources – to influence our work. While we do accept financial support for particular areas of coverage (say an education-focused philanthropy funding reporting on D.C. schools), these funders do not decide what stories get covered or how we cover them. 

We will always strive to be fair, including a variety of perspectives (and ones that won’t always make our readers and sources happy). But we won’t pursue what some publications call “journalistic objectivity.” This type of coverage too often conflates “truth” with a narrow set of perspectives and experiences and is used to protect powerful interests.

Accountability to our community

We aim to be as transparent and approachable as possible. You can contact us with questions, concerns, tips, or just to say hi at hello@51st.news.