Can This Co-op Save Local News in South Atlanta?

The news industry is facing unprecedented challenges, from declining trust to the struggle for sustainable revenue models. But one company’s and slightly contrarian. news strategy is shaking things up. Can a focus on hyperlocal reporting, combined with a cooperative ownership model, actually save local journalism?

Sarah Miller, a veteran journalist with 15 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, felt a growing disconnect. She loved investigative reporting, but the constant pressure for clicks and the shrinking newsroom were taking a toll. “It felt like we were covering the same national stories everyone else was, just with a local angle,” she told me over coffee last week at Octane Coffee in Grant Park. “We were missing the real stories, the ones happening on Ormond Street and in the Mechanicsville neighborhood.”

Sarah wasn’t alone. A 2025 report by the Pew Research Center found that trust in national news organizations has declined sharply over the past decade, while local news sources still maintain a higher level of trust, albeit a declining one (Pew Research Center). People crave news that directly impacts their lives: school board meetings, zoning decisions, local business openings, and community events. That’s the gap Sarah saw, and it’s what led her to take a leap of faith.

In early 2024, Sarah left the AJC and, along with three other journalists and a handful of community members, launched The South Atlanta Citizen, a hyperlocal news cooperative covering the neighborhoods south of I-20, from Peoplestown to Capitol View. Their mission: to provide in-depth, solutions-based reporting on the issues that matter most to the community.

But here’s the contrarian part: they decided to operate as a cooperative. Instead of seeking venture capital or relying solely on advertising revenue, The Citizen adopted a model where journalists and community members could become owners, sharing in the profits and participating in decision-making. It was a gamble, to be sure.

“We knew that building trust was paramount,” Sarah explained. “By giving the community a stake in the news organization, we hoped to foster a sense of ownership and accountability.”

The early days were tough. They operated out of a shared workspace in the MET Atlanta, relying on grants from local foundations and small donations from community members. They focused on long-form investigative pieces, like a series on the impact of the BeltLine expansion on affordable housing and another on the challenges facing small businesses in the Southside Industrial Park. They were not chasing clicks with sensationalist headlines. Their goal was to provide context and depth, to inform and empower the community.

Their approach was different, and some people didn’t get it. “Why are you spending so much time on one story?” one local business owner asked Sarah. “Just tell me what’s happening, not why.” But Sarah and her team persisted, believing that in-depth reporting was essential for building a strong and informed community.

One of their early successes was a series of articles on the proposed redevelopment of the former Turner Field site. The team spent months interviewing residents, attending community meetings, and analyzing city planning documents. Their reporting uncovered a number of potential problems with the project, including concerns about displacement and gentrification. They presented their findings in a clear and accessible way, and their reporting helped to galvanize community opposition to the original plan. Ultimately, the city council approved a revised plan that included more affordable housing and community benefits.

That’s when things started to change. People started to pay attention. Readership grew, donations increased, and other journalists and community members became interested in joining the cooperative. The Citizen began to gain recognition for its high-quality reporting and its commitment to the community.

According to the Associated Press, cooperative ownership models are gaining traction in various industries, including news, as a way to promote local control and community engagement. Sarah argues that this model is particularly well-suited for local news organizations, which often struggle to compete with larger, corporate-owned media outlets.

I had a client last year, a small weekly newspaper in rural Georgia, that was facing closure due to declining ad revenue. We explored a number of options, including selling to a larger media group, but ultimately the community decided to form a cooperative and take ownership of the paper themselves. It was a difficult process, but it saved the newspaper and gave the community a stronger voice in its own affairs. I saw firsthand how empowering it can be for a community to control its own news source.

Of course, the cooperative model is not without its challenges. It requires a high level of commitment from all members, and it can be difficult to make decisions when everyone has a say. But Sarah believes that the benefits outweigh the challenges. “It’s not easy,” she admits, “but it’s worth it. We’re building something that’s truly owned by the community, something that’s accountable to the community, and something that’s here for the long haul.”

Here’s what nobody tells you: building a successful news cooperative requires more than just good journalism. It requires strong leadership, effective management, and a deep understanding of the community’s needs. It also requires a willingness to experiment and adapt, to try new things and learn from your mistakes. The Citizen, for example, has invested heavily in social media engagement, using platforms like Mastodon and Discord to connect with readers and solicit feedback. They also host regular community forums and workshops to discuss local issues and gather story ideas.

One of the key lessons from The Citizen’s experience is the importance of focusing on solutions-based journalism. Instead of simply reporting on problems, they actively seek out and highlight solutions. For example, when they reported on the challenges facing the local food bank, they also highlighted the innovative ways that the food bank was addressing those challenges, such as partnering with local farmers to source fresh produce.

This approach has resonated with readers, who are often overwhelmed by the negativity in the news. “People are tired of hearing about problems,” Sarah says. “They want to know what’s being done to solve those problems. They want to see hope. They want to see progress.”

Another crucial aspect of The Citizen’s success has been its commitment to transparency. They publish their financial statements online, they disclose their funding sources, and they are always open to criticism and feedback. This transparency has helped to build trust with the community and to establish The Citizen as a credible and reliable news source. According to a 2026 report by the Reuters Institute Reuters Institute, transparency is a key factor in building trust in news organizations.

As of late 2026, The South Atlanta Citizen has a staff of eight full-time journalists and a growing roster of community members who contribute articles, photos, and videos. They have a thriving website, a strong social media presence, and a growing base of paying members. They are not yet profitable, but they are on track to become self-sustaining within the next few years. More importantly, they are making a real difference in the community, informing and empowering residents to take action on the issues that matter most to them.

The Fulton County Superior Court recently cited The Citizen’s reporting in a ruling on a zoning dispute, a testament to the quality and impact of their work. It proves that deeply local reporting matters.

The South Atlanta Citizen isn’t the only example of this model. Similar news cooperatives are springing up across the country, from the NPR-supported Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting to small town newspapers in the Pacific Northwest. The trend suggests a growing recognition that the future of local news may lie in community ownership and a renewed focus on in-depth, solutions-based reporting.

The success of The South Atlanta Citizen is a testament to the power of hyperlocal reporting and the potential of the cooperative ownership model. It’s a reminder that even in a challenging media environment, there is still room for innovation, creativity, and a commitment to serving the community.

The next time you’re scrolling through your news feed, take a moment to think about where your news is coming from. Is it from a large, corporate-owned media outlet, or is it from a local news organization that’s invested in your community? The answer may surprise you.

Sarah Miller’s experiment in South Atlanta demonstrates the power of community-driven news. Instead of lamenting the decline of traditional media, we should all consider supporting — and even joining — our local news cooperatives. The survival of informed communities may depend on it.

This model requires a creative approach to solving problems.