Verite News New Orleans

What Verite News New Orleans does

Verite News New Orleans is a Black-led nonprofit newsroom founded in 2022 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana, operating as a member of the Deep South Today network of nonprofit newsrooms alongside Mississippi Today. The organization produces free local journalism covering politics, immigration, environment, health, education, government, justice, housing, and culture for Greater New Orleans and Louisiana audiences, with ongoing coverage beats including the Landry recall, Louisiana redistricting, ICE and immigration, and hurricane preparedness. Its product surface spans the veritenews.org website, two email newsletters (The Truth Dispatch on weekdays and In the N.O. on Saturdays), an SMS text line at (504) 226-6885, and an active presence on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Bluesky, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Reddit, supplemented by the Porch Poppin' weekly video series on YouTube and TikTok, a News Quiz feature, and a Hurricane Season Guide.

The underlying technology stack is intentionally lean: content is published on Newspack, an open-source publishing platform built for news organizations, with standard third-party integrations for analytics (Google Analytics) and donor payments. The business model is donation- and grant-funded rather than subscription- or advertising-driven — all news content is provided free to readers, and revenue is generated through voluntary reader donations and institutional support from the Ford Foundation, Arnold Ventures, Liberty Bank, the American Jewish Press, and Report for America (which places journalists such as Halle Parker in the newsroom). Verite News extends its editorial reach through partnerships with ProPublica's Local Reporting Network (producing the Criminal Justice Rollback investigative series), Grist (the 'Burned' series on the wood pellet industry), and Louisiana Illuminator, and it makes its articles available for free republication under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 license.

As of the available data, the newsroom operates with 18 employees and is led by a managing editor ([email protected]). Its work has earned national recognition, including a 2025 Society of Professional Journalists award for cultural criticism won by Drew Costley. The organization positions itself explicitly on equitable truth, facts, and fairness, with a focus on covering issues and communities often underserved by larger regional outlets, and it engages in community-building through events such as the Hospitality Health Fair.

Name

Verite News New Orleans

Legal name

Deep South Today

Website

https://veritenews.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Verite News New Orleans is a Black-led nonprofit newsroom founded in 2022 that provides free local journalism on politics, immigration, environment, health, education, justice, and culture to Greater New Orleans and Louisiana residents, funded by reader donations and institutional foundation grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Digital News

NAICS

Newspaper Publishers (513110), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Newspapers: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2711)

akta.pro primary industry

Investigative & Nonprofit News Organizations (MPAJADAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB), Community, Ethnic & Multilingual News Publishers (MPAJADAG)

Keywords

• Nonprofit journalism
• Local news reporting
• Community newsroom
• Digital newsletters
• Investigative reporting

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donor Contributions: Verite News is a nonprofit organization funded primarily through donations from readers and supporters. The newsroom emphasizes that donations from the community power honest, accurate reporting that reflects and serves New Orleans.
2. Institutional Foundation Support: The organization receives support from institutional funders including Ford Foundation, Arnold Ventures, and Liberty Bank, as well as Report for America which places journalists in local newsrooms.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Verite News New Orleans is a Black-led nonprofit digital newsroom that publishes free original local journalism covering New Orleans and Louisiana, with a primary focus on politics, immigration, environment, health, education, government, justice, housing, and culture. The organization distributes this journalism through its website, daily and weekly email newsletters, an SMS text line, social media, and a weekly video series, and is funded by reader donations and institutional foundation grants.

Product overview

Verite News New Orleans operates as a Black-led nonprofit newsroom providing free access to local journalism covering New Orleans and Louisiana. The organization offers a core digital news platform supplemented by community engagement products including SMS text alerts (Text Line), email newsletters (The Truth Dispatch daily and In the N.O. weekly), an interactive News Quiz feature, and a Hurricane Season Guide for emergency preparedness. Additional offerings include the Porch Poppin' video series and investigative series such as the Criminal Justice Rollback reporting produced in partnership with ProPublica. The organization also covers content related to the City Seats early childhood education program. Revenue is generated through charitable donations rather than subscriptions or advertising.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Verite News Website Primary digital news platform providing free access to local journalism covering New Orleans and Louisiana across politics, immigration, environment, health, education, government, justice, housing, and culture.
• Text Line SMS Alerts

Quantifiable outcome

• Award-winning journalism recognized nationally (SPJ 2025 award for cultural criticism)

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Deep South TodaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVerite News is part of the Deep South Today network of nonprofit newsrooms, which includes Mississippi Today. Deep South Today provides operational support and infrastructure for member newsrooms.
• ProPublica Local Reporting NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVerite News participates in ProPublica's Local Reporting Network, producing investigative journalism in partnership with ProPublica. The Criminal Justice Rollback series was produced in partnership with ProPublica.
• Louisiana IlluminatorminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent partnership for sharing and co-publishing stories. Staff from Louisiana Illuminator contribute articles that appear on Verite News platform.
• GristminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on the 'Burned' series covering the wood pellet industry's effects on the US South.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mississippi Today: Sister nonprofit newsroom within the Deep South Today network serving Mississippi; operates the same parent-supported local news model for an underserved Southern market, making it the most structurally comparable peer.
• Louisiana Illuminator: Nonprofit state-level newsroom covering Louisiana policy and politics; has an active content partnership with Verite News, serves overlapping geographic audiences, and shares the nonprofit, donor-funded business model.
• Block Club Chicago: Nonprofit local newsroom serving Chicago neighborhoods; closely matches Verite's community-centered, donor-funded model and use of newsletters and direct reader engagement in a single metro market.
• Capital B: Black-led nonprofit local news organization serving underserved communities; structurally aligned with Verite on mission, audience focus, and nonprofit funding model.
• The Current: Nonprofit local newsroom covering the Savannah area; one of the closest comparables to Verite's model of community-focused, donor-supported local journalism in a Southern metro.

Broad incumbents

• The Advocate / NOLA.com (Times-Picayune): Established for-profit local news outlets covering the same New Orleans and Louisiana geography; compete for the same readership and civic-journalism audience but operate under a traditional subscription/advertising model.

Others

• ProPublica: National nonprofit investigative newsroom and Verite's direct reporting partner through the ProPublica Local Reporting Network; comparable as a nonprofit, donor-funded investigative journalism operation, though at national rather than local scale.
• The Markup: Nonprofit investigative newsroom focused on technology and society; relevant as a comparable nonprofit, donor-funded digital-first news organization, though its subject matter is national rather than local.
• Grist: Nonprofit environmental news outlet and Verite's reporting partner on the 'Burned' series; comparable as a donor-funded nonprofit newsroom, with overlap through environmental coverage collaborations.

Emerging players

• Type Investigations (formerly The Investigative Fund): Nonprofit investigative journalism organization that incubates reporting projects; comparable as a nonprofit, donor-funded investigative outlet, though without Verite's fixed local-market focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/veritenewsnola
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@veritenewsneworleans
• Facebookfacebook.com/veritenewsnola
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verite-news-new-orleans
• Instagraminstagram.com/veritenewsnola
• TikToktiktok.com/@veritenewsnola

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Verite News New Orleans