Community journalism · Dayton, Ohio
Developing engaged, informed communities.
The Journalism Lab trains regular people — citizen correspondents — in the craft of reporting and storytelling.
Our Mission
Journalism for everyone
We want to get people interested in and passionate about life in their locality to a degree that moves them — journalism tools in hand — to report. Every aspect of The Journalism Lab is animated by the belief that regular people not only can do this work, but that they should.
The need has never been more urgent. A 2025 Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News study found a more than 75% decline in the number of local journalists since 2002.
More than at any point in decades, a career in the media has never looked less appetizing to young people starting out in the world. Meanwhile, the neighborhoods already least served are the first to become true news deserts — places where the answer to “what is my government doing?” is functionally unknowable.
The fallout reaches every corner of community life. When local journalism disappears, studies show fewer people vote and run for office, municipal borrowing costs rise, and corruption increases — leaving special interests and donors to shape a community's present and future.
What we do
Programs
The Bureau
We train local residents — "citizen correspondents" — in core journalism skills: story pitching, writing, audio and podcasting.
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The Co-Laborative
A monthly gathering for those working in journalism across the region to connect, share, and collaborate.
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Student Workshops
Since 2024, working with Dayton-area students to develop a growing cohort of future journalists.
Learn more →Published work
Our correspondents' work has appeared in…
The bigger picture
The Lab is building toward Dayton.FYI.
Our training and youth programs are the foundation of a larger vision: a civic information platform that helps Dayton tell — and govern — its own story.
Explore the visionGet involved with the Lab.
Are you interested in learning more about journalism or media literacy? We'd love to train you — or bring the Lab to your community.