Building The 51st

3 Months, 81,000 Readers and 60 Stories. Here's What's Next.

We're only 68 members away from our goal of 2000 needed by 2025!

Sunlight hits a row of buildings on 18th St in Adams Morgan.

Building The 51st

A New Chapter, Two Decades in the Making

Back in 2005, only a few years into what I assumed would be a brief residence in D.C., I started writing for what was then a small blog. DCist had no full-time or paid writers; we all did it as a labor of love when our day jobs were

The door to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore, with a placard for 'Witness: Media & The Movement'

Building The 51st

A Reciprocal Relationship

I recently visited an exhibit at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in Baltimore about how Black media played a role in the Civil Rights Movement. It highlighted publications like the Baltimore AFRO American newspaper and journalists like Moses Newson, who risked their lives to shed light on the horrors Black

Photo showing strips of many different colors and patterns weaved together. In the foreground, tucked into some of the fabr

Building The 51st

Our people-powered news needs more people

Hey There, Eric Falquero here, one of The 51st co-founders and resident numbers guy. I ran partnerships for the WAMU/DCist local newsroom and was one of the 17 workers abruptly fired in February. Before that, I helped lead the Street Sense newsroom for a decade. Building The 51st has

Colorful newspaper boxes in various states of knocked over along a sidewalk in D.C.

Building The 51st

This is my nightmare — but hear me out

Hi there, Colleen here. 51st cofounder and reporter, formerly of DCist and WAMU. As your inbox probably suggests, it’s Giving Tuesday — that special day when every nonprofit you’ve ever given your email to reaches out with an open palm. Well, surprise, we’re going to do that too!

Building The 51st

Thank you for funding this hyper-local dream

Hey folks, It's Christina here, with a quick story: At the top of 2024 — after working six years as a freelance journalist — I decided to search for a full-time job. Like most reporters who’ve spent more than a decade in the field, I yearned for something new.

A mural painted in D.C., there are four children tending to the soil, with vibrant greens growing out of the earth.

Building The 51st

Help The 51st grow — for free!

We’ve been publishing for almost two months (!) and growing The 51st with you has been thrilling. Our progress has been heartening, and each day this dream of growing a sustainable worker-led newsroom for D.C. feels more and more possible. The crowdfunding campaign gave us the runway we needed

A picture of a sidewalk in D.C. with a small mural featuring fire, a first, and a traffic light.

Building The 51st

An antidote to despair

Focusing on what we can do.

A picture of a couple dozen people gathered in a garden on a sunny day, with colorful row houses in the background.

Building The 51st

D.C. deserves billionaire-free local news

If 5% of the people who have canceled their Washington Post subscriptions joined the 51st, we’d be fully funded.

Photo showing two people standing next to a board that reads "Whad to YOU want from local news?", talking to a man.

Community Connections

What people want from local news in DC: Early feedback in Congress Heights, Petworth, and Dupont

After connecting with our neighbors in person. A lot of people gave us their time. So we wanted to return the favor and reflect back what we heard.

Photo showing sheets of paper on a cutting board that say "DC NEEDS MORE LOCAL NEWS!" and "SUPPORT THE 51st"

Community Connections

What's in a name? D.C. local news done differently

After WAMU shuttered DCist.com, six alumni announce a new local newsroom laser-focused on building meaningful relationships with our readers.