Capital B
Focus
Building a network of nonprofit newsrooms for Black communities across the country
Established
2021
Capital B is a Black-led, nonprofit local and national news organization reporting for Black communities across the country.
The organization’s founders, two outstanding Black journalism leaders, received an incubation grant from the American Journalism Project in 2020 to support their efforts to design and fundraise for a new news organization to serve Black communities.
Capital B is growing its presence in local communities across the country, with newsrooms launched in Atlanta, Georgia and Gary, Indiana. The local newsrooms publish need-to-know information — such as how to find affordable housing, apply for benefits, and vote — civic journalism, and accountability reporting, with an editorial strategy informed by intensive community listening and engagement with Black metro Atlanta and Gary residents.
We are so excited about building a radically diverse and inclusive newsroom. Black America is vast in its diversity."
Akoto Ofori-Atta, Co-Founder and Chief Audience Officer
Leaders
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Lauren WilliamsCo-Founder and CEOLauren Williams is one of the most sought-after journalism leaders of her generation. Most recently she was SVP and editor-in-chief of Vox, where she managed all editorial and business operations for the explanatory news network, including one of YouTube’s largest news channels (with 9 million subscribers); more than a dozen podcasts, including the daily news show Today, Explained, and a TV operation anchored by the Netflix franchise Explained. -
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Akoto Ofori-AttaCo-Founder and Chief Audience OfficerAkoto Ofori-Atta is a highly admired editorial leader in nonprofit news. She was previously managing editor at The Trace, where she was responsible for partnerships, special projects, and editorial operations and helped secure more than 170 local and national editorial partners for The Trace’s features and investigations. In 2015, she completed a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University, where she focused on issues surrounding diversity and the Black press.
