The Alaska Beacon launches with the goal of a better-informed state

Today, May 11, marks the launch of the Alaska Beacon, the state’s newest source for news and commentary on the state government, its policies and the politics that make it happen. 

The Alaska Beacon aims to be an outlet people who want to better understand Alaska and its government can turn to. It’s nonpartisan and independent of any politician, political campaign or vested interest. 

The Beacon makes Alaska the 27th state covered by States Newsroom, a national nonprofit founded in 2017 with the goal of improving coverage in state capitals across the U.S. 

And there is plenty of room for improvement. The number of full-time journalists covering Alaska legislative sessions has declined as news organizations have cut back and consolidated under financial pressure. 

A Pew Research report recently found that Alaska had a steep decline. 

The report’s author explain why this matters: 

“From voting rights and redistricting to abortion and public education, state capitols across the United States are at the epicenter of the nation’s key public policy debates,” they wrote.

While how to quantify the decline is disputed, there is broad agreement that there are fewer people covering Alaska’s government than there were in the not-too-distant past. 

The Beacon aims to serve as a watchdog, looking out for how public dollars are being spent and public needs are being met. The staff is well positioned to do that. 

Staffed by experienced journalists

All four of the Beacon’s full-time journalists draw on deep knowledge of state government. They are: 

• this writer, editor-in-chief Andrew Kitchenman, who’s covered the state for Alaska Public Media and KTOO for six years; 
• deputy editor Lisa Phu, who draws from her work covering how policies affect the lives of Alaskans in Juneau and Wrangell for public media and newspapers; 
• reporter James Brooks, who has covered the Legislature and the state government for both the Anchorage Daily News and Juneau Empire; and 
• reporter Yereth Rosen, who has covered energy and environment issues in the state for Reuters and Arctic Today, and was the climate editor for the Anchorage Daily News. 

The Beacon’s journalists are split between Juneau and Anchorage, allowing them to cover the state when the Legislature is in session and out of session. They aim to cover the entire state, with an eye toward how policies affect Alaskans in their daily lives. We aim for our work to reflect and engage with the remarkable diversity of the state’s people, including the Alaska Native communities who have lived in the state for thousands of years.

The Beacon’s reporting will be available free of charge through the website and a subscription newsletter, The Morning Light, which will be emailed daily.

And also through a unique arrangement, States Newsroom outlets like the Alaska Beacon license all of their work through Creative Commons. That means that any existing news organization, like newspapers and broadcast stations, is free to republish our stories, staff photos and other content. The Alaska Beacon launches in the hope this will raise the standards and knowledge of state government throughout Alaska. 

States Newsroom director and publisher Chris Fitzsimon described the organization’s goals when he announced the decision to come to Alaska: 

“We are using a new model of nonprofit journalism at the state level to ensure that everyone has access to high-quality, non-partisan reporting on the most pressing issues affecting them and their communities,” he said.

The Alaska Beacon will be able to draw stories from States Newsroom’s other outlets, who cover issues that can parallel those in Alaska. And States Newsroom also operates a Washington, D.C., bureau, which covers the federal government with an eye toward how it affects the states. The national team includes a reporter with a focus on federal land and other issues that affect Western states. 

In addition to its news reporting, the Alaska Beacon will serve as a platform for commentary. We’re seeking fresh, fact-based views that will advance policy debates in the public interest. 

A donation-based business model

The Alaska Beacon’s work is based on the donations made by supporters of the independent journalism that States Newsroom outlets have provided across the country. These donors range from large national funders to individuals and families that believe in that work. The Beacon invites you to subscribe to the newsletter and, while you’re at it, to make a donation. 

The Beacon staff is experienced, but it’s a new outlet, and we hope to experiment, try different approaches and learn in the process. We plan to be both a reliable source of factual information for those who care about Alaska and a place where our audience will be surprised by what they learn. 

The Alaska Beacon staff invites those who love the largest state in the Union to join it as it seeks to illuminate Alaska’s course forward.