INSP has added another content partner to its ever-expanding list by teaming up with Philadelphia-based non-profit news organisation Next City to bring its stories to the INSP News Service.
Joining Reuters, Inter Press Service and The Conversation on INSP’s roster of non-street paper partner organisations providing invaluable editorial content to the network, Next City will make a selection of its stories available each month for republication in INSP member publications going forward.
Lucas Grindley, executive director of Next City, told INSP: “Our mission at Next City is to tell stories about solutions that are improving cities. We’re proud to partner with one of those great solutions — the street paper network. We’re honoured that our journalism will now appear in newspapers that are empowering those experiencing homelessness.”
Kelly Regan, the organisation’s editorial director, added: “We are delighted to collaborate with the International Network of Street Papers to bring Next City’s stories to a wider international audience.
“Our mission to cover solutions of equity, resilience and inclusivity in cities resonates with INSP’s commitment to independent journalism as a vehicle of economic empowerment for people, past and present, who have experienced homelessness.”
Founded in 2003, Next City produces stories that amplify solutions to the problems facing urban centres day to day, communicating to its two million annual site visitors innovative ideas that infuse cities with greater economic, environmental and social justice.
Recent stories, already available to INSP members on the News Service, have covered everything from the effects of gentrification to how climate change is impacting the housing crisis.
Often, the street paper movement can be isolated to the issue at its core – namely, homelessness – when there are myriad intersectional problems which affects vendors’ ability to reach out of homelessness and poverty.
With the majority of street paper vendors having their pitch in urban areas, Next City stories, focused on these places, will place the experiences of vendors within their constantly changing environments.
Commenting on the newfound partnership between the organisations, INSP’s chief executive Maree Aldam said: “We are thrilled to now be bringing Next City content to INSP members. We have a rich bank of stories being provided by outlets from outside the street paper network each week thanks to our long and fruitful content partnerships, and working with Next City makes this exponentially stronger.
“INSP’s key goal is to facilitate street papers in increasing vendor sales, and one of the ways we do this is by providing editorial support to build capacity and quality. Being able to provide our members with Next City’s work, we are strengthened in our ability to do this.
“Next City’s focus on journalism that analyses the problems facing urban areas, and the innovative solutions being created to address them, is invaluable to our members. Street papers are always striving to help readers understand the experiences of our vendors, and placing them in the context of the cities they live and work in shows that they are affected by these issues as much as anyone else, regardless of their housing status. It means getting one step closer to achieving that understanding.”
The INSP News Service, where Next City stories will appear, is one of the key services INSP provides its members.
In 2018-19, this news wire for street papers made over 600 articles available to publish free of charge to the network. INSP ensures accessibility to all members, regardless of their publishing language, thanks to a team of 128 volunteer translators.
2019 marks INSP’s 25th anniversary, and this new partnership with Next City is just another step in providing support and sustainability to street papers in the years to come.
For more information about Next City, visit www.nextcity.org. Follow Next city on Twitter.
INSP members can find all Next City stories available on the INSP News Service here.
