PublicSource does it for you

I’m Sharon Walsh, the first editor of PublicSource.

When I arrived in Pittsburgh in July 2011, PublicSource was mostly an idea. It was supported by major foundations in the city whose leaders believed Southwestern Pennsylvania deserved more in-depth news.

My background was more than 30 years as an investigative reporter and editor at major newspapers. I had never started anything. PublicSource began in a mostly empty office with no staff, no name recognition, no board of directors for advice, and no readers.

Now, seven years after its first story appeared online, and two years after my retirement, PublicSource has 10 talented staff members, an engaged board of directors, and a non-profit tax designation that allows it to raise money and be independent.

I couldn’t be more proud of what Executive Director Mila Sanina and her staff are delivering to readers in Pittsburgh: In-depth news that is fair-minded and checked for accuracy. They report. They write. They verify.

They engage with the community. They teach media literacy, sponsor lectures and, when the community is in crisis, PublicSource staffers show up. As they did following the recent horrific murders at the Tree of Life in Squirrel Hill.

They not only told the story of what happened in articles and photographs, but reached out to members of the community to tell first-person stories. Their reporting did not deny the act of hate, but helped the community deal with the storm of grief in a way that showed Pittsburgh’s exceptional side.

If you want news about important issues, voting or policing or education or growing up Black in Pittsburgh, PublicSource is the place you come to. Foundations have been good to PublicSource, but now we need you to show your support for this kind of journalism by donating to this effort. The need doesn’t go away. News from PublicSource requires staff members and freelancers and photographers and legal advice and on and on.

Perhaps it’s worth it to you to give monthly to PS to get the unvarnished news, without the opinions and biases that so often are found in sources.

Dig deep. This is a time when your contribution will be matched. And PublicSource will use the funds to bring you more of the information you need about your community.

It will hold the powerful to account, push for transparency in public policy and defend the rights of the First Amendment.

They do it for you.

— Sharon Walsh, a PublicSource board member

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