Cronkite News

What Cronkite News does

Cronkite News is a non-profit regional news organization operated as the news division of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. It functions as a "teaching hospital-style" newsroom in which student journalists, supervised by professional faculty, produce daily editorial coverage across ten or more beats including Borderlands, Health, Indigenous, Money, Noticias (Spanish-language), Politics & Policy, Social Justice, Sports, Sustainability, and Tech. Its primary audience is Arizona residents and the broader public, with secondary reach to other media organizations that republish its work. Headcount is reported at 129 personnel, though this figure likely blends paid staff with student contributors given the academic operating model.

The organization's technology stack is centered on a WordPress-based content management system powered by Newspack, supporting a dedicated website at cronkitenews.azpbs.org, a YouTube channel hosting newscast playlists, social media accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook, and a daily email newsletter. Distribution is multi-channel: Arizona PBS serves as the primary broadcast television partner across Arizona; the website and social channels drive direct digital consumption; and content is offered for free republication by other media organizations under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Special investigative projects (In Pursuit, America After Roe, Lethal Restraint, Fractured) are produced in collaboration with Carnegie-Knight News21.

Commercially, Cronkite News does not operate a revenue-generating model in the conventional sense. Content is provided free to consumers, and pricing to media partners is zero under the Creative Commons license. The organization is institutionally funded through Arizona State University and grants, and is supported by donations routed through the ASU Foundation ("GIVE" link on the site). The legal entity is a non-profit academic unit of ASU, domiciled in Arizona, USA, with editorial control retained by the Cronkite School. There are no disclosed funding rounds, no investor ownership, and no M&A activity in the data.

Name

Cronkite News

Legal name

Cronkite News

Website

https://cronkitenews.azpbs.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Cronkite News is a non-profit regional news organization produced by Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, providing daily Arizona-focused journalism across broadcast (AZPBS), digital, and social media under Creative Commons licensing to the public and partner outlets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Institutional Funding: As a university journalism program at Arizona State University, Cronkite News operates primarily through institutional funding from ASU and grants, with content provided free to the public and licensed to media partners under Creative Commons.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Cronkite News is a regional news organization produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. It produces daily news coverage across categories including Borderlands, Health, Indigenous, Money, Noticias, Politics & Policy, Social Justice, Sports, Sustainability, and Tech, distributed through Arizona PBS television, a dedicated website, YouTube, social media, and email newsletters. Content is offered free to the public and licensed under Creative Commons for republication by other media organizations.

Product overview

Cronkite News is a regional news organization produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. It provides digital news content across multiple coverage areas including Borderlands, Health, Indigenous, Money, Noticias, Politics & Policy, Social Justice, Sports, Sustainability, and Tech. The organization produces special investigative projects (In Pursuit, America After Roe, Lethal Restraint, Fractured) and distributes content through broadcast, digital, and social media platforms. Cronkite News offers its content for republishing by other news organizations under Creative Commons licensing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cronkite News Daily Newscast

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Arizona State University (Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. ASU provides institutional support, faculty supervision, and student workforce for the news operation.
• Arizona PBS (AZPBS)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorArizona PBS serves as the primary broadcast television partner for Cronkite News, distributing content on television across Arizona. The partnership appears on the cronkitenews.azpbs.org domain.
• Carnegie-Knight News21minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative investigative journalism initiative. Cronkite News produces special reports and investigations in partnership with News21, featuring projects like In Pursuit, America After Roe, Lethal Restraint, and Fractured.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• The Arizona Republic: Arizona's largest daily newspaper and primary commercial competitor for Arizona-focused news coverage. Directly comparable in scope (statewide Arizona beat coverage) but differs in ownership structure (commercial/Gannett vs. ASU non-profit) and platform mix.
• ProPublica: National investigative nonprofit newsroom with a similar non-commercial, mission-driven model. Comparable in producing deep investigative journalism supported by institutional funding rather than advertising.
• CalMatters: California-focused nonprofit newsroom covering state policy, politics, and social issues. Similar in being a non-commercial, state-focused digital news operation with multi-beat coverage and philanthropic funding.
• The Texas Tribune: Nonprofit, state-focused news organization producing original reporting across politics, policy, and social issues with a teaching/newsroom hybrid model. Closest structural analog to Cronkite News's mission and operational design.
• Arizona Mirror: Nonprofit Arizona-focused digital news outlet covering state politics and policy. Directly comparable in geography (Arizona) and editorial focus (state government and policy reporting).

Others

• Carnegie-Knight News21: Collaborative investigative journalism initiative based at the Cronkite School that produces national investigative projects with university partners. Functions as a strategic partner and content amplifier rather than a competitor.
• Newspack: WordPress-based CMS platform used by Cronkite News to power its digital publishing infrastructure. A technology provider/ecosystem enabler rather than a competitive peer.

Regional players

• VTDigger: Nonprofit digital news outlet covering Vermont state government and policy. Comparable as a state-focused, non-commercial news operation with philanthropic support, though serving a different regional audience.
• The Connecticut Mirror: Nonprofit state-focused digital newsroom covering Connecticut policy and politics. Structurally analogous as a state-focused non-profit news operation, though serving a different geography.

Broad incumbents

• Arizona PBS: Cronkite News's primary broadcast distribution partner; a public broadcasting station that also produces its own news programming and offers overlapping Arizona-focused TV content. Incumbent in the same broadcast space Cronkite News depends on.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cronkitenews
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/cronkitenewswatch
• Facebookfacebook.com/cronkitenewsazpbs
• Instagraminstagram.com/cronkitenews
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cronkite-news

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cronkite News