Charlottesville Inclusive Media (CIM) is getting national attention for our collaborative journalism.
CIM partners Charlottesville Tomorrow, In My Humble Opinion Radio Show and Vinegar Hill Magazine have been nominated in the “Collaboration of the Year” category for the 2025 LION Sustainability Awards.
The award recognizes Local Independent Online News members that are engaged in a collaboration that enhances “journalistic impact, financial health, and/or operational resilience,” according to the LION Publishers announcement.
Since its inception in 2018 and first public-facing projects in 2020, CIM was founded to bring greater representation to central Virginia media and build local media that serves everyone. Over the past two years, the partners introduced a slate of new community-oriented programs that earned the judges attention.
- We expanded our network to engage over 25 community leaders in the Informing Our Communities Roundtable, which collaborates to strengthen our local information ecosystem. The leaders reach diverse communities with essential information and are now collaborating to help grow a healthy news and information ecosystem in the region.
- This is the inaugural year of an internship program and fellowship program, which are helping give more people pathways into local news.
- CIM publishes local contributors through the First Person Charlottesville series and hosts Can I Talk to You, C-Ville? public events. These events help bring more perspectives into local decision-making and connect communities across their differences.
Our innovative work has also been featured at national conferences, including the Institute for Nonprofit News’ INN Days, the Collaborative Journalism Summit and American Press Institute conventions…