Here is a more recent photo of me talking with state Rep. Ben Baroody at the Statehouse in Concord just before we launched InDepthNH.org last year.
I can’t believe it’s been a year already. Or that a handful of newshounds would join me on the journey of a lifetime to create InDepthNH.org, a nonprofit news outlet for New Hampshire.
But a handful of journalists who together boast more than two centuries of experience reporting, editing, posting, podcasting and cartooning New Hampshire news have done just that. Yeah, I said centuries.
Published online by the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism, on Sept. 1, we will celebrate the first anniversary of our launch.
Whew. We made it and this is only the beginning. With your help, we plan to employ five full-time reporters in five years plus a full staff to support them.
InDepthNH.org continues to grow and thrive because of you, our readers and supporters, of course. But also because of the seasoned pros who jumped onboard because of our dedication to news — each doing what we can when we can — with only the hope of being well-paid for our labor somewhere down the line.
They include my son, web guru Montana West, and friends and top news professionals Roger Wood, Bob Charest, John Harrigan, Chris Jensen and Mike Marland who have devoted themselves to our mission.
I love dropping their names because I am sure many of you know and admire their work. Our list of contributors grows every day, including columnists Susan Dromey Heeter, Jen Hollidge, David Lovlien Jr., and Christine Schadler. Now, if we could find a volunteer to take on fundraising, we’d be that much closer to our goal.
InDepthNH.org belongs to us all. Our mission is to fearlessly report unbiased news that informs citizens about matters of public interest and moves them to action. We engage in watchdog journalism to reveal injustice while giving voice to often-marginalized and overlooked issues, people and communities.
We offer our stories for free to New Hampshire media to help buoy us all. We don’t compete.
On the run-up to Sept. 1, we will celebrate our first anniversary by telling you a bit about ourselves and providing a retrospective of the work we’ve done. Don’t be fooled, however. It’s all about the money. We want you to trust us so you will invest in us with your tax-deductible donations and underwriting so we can get paid for what we love doing. Just so you know.
We are working hard on our next fundraising campaign. Reporting news costs money. Part of our job is to help explain why we think you should help us and to listen to what you think really matters.
A little about me: 30 years experience reporting/editing at the New Hampshire Union Leader and the Littleton Courier before that. Mother, grandmother, sister and friend. Click here for more about me.
Today, I am starting our anniversary series by republishing the first story we posted on InDepthNH.org. I reported it first for VTDigger with a grant from the Fund for Investigative Journalism. It’s about police officers who testify without disclosing their disciplinary history of dishonesty to the defendant. That led to other stories about the hot-button issue. (see below)
Stay tuned as we shine the spotlight on our merry band of contributors during the week. Thanks for finding us at InDepthNH.org. Please bookmark us and tell your friends. And don’t be shy to tell us how we’re doing at nancywestnews@gmail.com Thanks. Nancy West, founder of the New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism.
Evidence of Police Dishonesty Leads to Overturned Convictions nationally
Click these links for indepth reporting by Nancy West:
Troubles Treating the Mentally Ill