The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel launched the Neighborhood Dispatch initiative in July 2025 to reconnect with several Milwaukee communities, and in the past year, the team has taken significant steps towards that goal.
When our team started, we hit the ground running by visiting with neighbors, volunteering in the community, reporting on stories that had been overlooked, and asking community members for feedback on our work along the way.
Now, we’d like to share our progress with the neighbors, supporters and colleagues who made this community-centered work possible.
This community impact report serves not only as an update on this new reporting initiative but also as an invitation to those who would like to join us as thought partners, collaborators and contributors.
As we move forward, we want the Neighborhood Dispatch to be a representation of what this community would like to see out of its local news media landscape – a lab for residents and media makers who want to create a more connected, more informed community.
We welcome feedback, ideas, opinion pieces and other opportunities for fellowship. If you’d like to get involved or have a story to share, feel free to reach out to us at neighborhoodsmke@usatodayco.com.
To read the full report, click here.
Kynala Phillips is the editor of the Journal Sentinel’s Neighborhood Dispatch, which covers the Metcalfe Park, Layton Boulevard West and Harambee neighborhoods. Contact: kjphillips@usatodayco.com
Neighborhood Dispatch reporting is supported by Northwestern Mutual Foundation, Journal Foundation, Bader Philanthropies, Greater Milwaukee Foundation, and reader contributions to the Journal Sentinel Community-Funded Journalism Project. Journal Sentinel editors maintain full editorial control over all content. To support this work, visit jsonline.com/support. Checks can be addressed to Local Media Foundation (memo: “JS Community Journalism”) and mailed to P.O. Box 85015, Chicago, IL 60689.The JS Community-Funded Journalism Project is administered by Local Media Foundation, tax ID #36‐4427750, a Section 501(c)(3) charitable trust affiliated with Local Media Association.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Inside the first year of the Neighborhood Dispatch reporting project
Reporting by Kynala Phillips, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kynala Phillips, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
