City Bureau

Year Founded: 2015

City Bureau believes that equipping local residents with civic skills and resources and training emerging journalists in sustained impact reporting will foster transparency, civic engagement, and greater community well-being. By creating spaces for civic involvement, deliberative dialogue, and community-driven reporting, they aim to rebuild trust in local journalism and promote democratic participation beyond election cycles to help everyday people shape the future of their communities.

In a time when trust in news sources is declining, City Bureau’s innovative model offers a fresh approach to civic education and local journalism. Their focus on supporting local communities with the resources and tools they need to make change in their neighborhoods and training emerging journalists from underrepresented communities align with New Profit’s Democracy strategy and interest in investing in impact models that cultivate deeper civic capabilities and daily practices of democracy.  

Founded in 2015, City Bureau has deep roots in Chicago and leads a national network active in 20+ communities across  14 states, engaging thousands of residents in direct civic participation. .

Under the leadership of Executive Director Morgan Malone, City Bureau has evolved into a national leader in participatory democracy, civic education, and journalism innovation, reinforcing its infrastructure and business model for sustainable growth.

Impact Highlights:

• City Bureau has equipped and paid over 4,000 residents in civic processes, helping to expand transparency across 14 states and produce local information resources for an estimated 29 million people. .
• Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative series “Missing in Chicago” exposed patterns of mismanagement in Chicago police’s handling of missing person cases–leading to policy change at local and state levels.
• Trained 150+ emerging journalists in community-driven sustained impact reporting and reached 10,000+ with practical guides and resources.