Granite State News Collaborative

What Granite State News Collaborative does

Granite State News Collaborative (GSNC) is a statewide nonprofit journalism network founded in 2019 and headquartered in New Hampshire. It connects more than 20 local news, education, and community organizations — including NHPR, NHPBS, the Concord Monitor, the Keene Sentinel, The Laconia Daily Sun, and Manchester Ink Link — through a shared news exchange and project management layer that enables co-reporting, content sharing, and cross-publication of stories across print, online, radio, and broadcast channels. Since March 2020, partners have collectively cross-published more than 4,000 shared news stories and approximately 600 in-depth investigative pieces, with a potential combined audience reach of 3.8 million people across New Hampshire and parts of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine.

GSNC operates distinct programs on top of the core collaborative: a multi-year Race and Equity Initiative; the NH Informado bilingual (Spanish-English) initiative in partnership with NHPR; the Civic Documenters NH program that trains community members to document local government meetings; the Local News Lab high school mentoring program; the Community Journalism Project; The Granite Beat podcast (with The Laconia Daily Sun); The State We're In digital public affairs show (with NHPBS); and the Know Your News press-freedom public education campaign. The organization does not sell products or technology; it provides services free to member outlets and distributes content freely.

Revenue is sourced almost entirely from philanthropic grants and individual donations. Identified funders include Knight Foundation ($200,000 over two years administered via Solutions Journalism Network), NH Charitable Foundation (multiple grants totaling ~$107,000), Endowment for Health ($15,000), Couch Family Foundation ($20,000+), Eppes-Jefferson Foundation ($15,000), Eversource Energy Foundation ($5,000), and NH Women's Foundation ($3,000). More than $420,000 in cumulative reporting resources has been invested in partner outlets. The organization is fiscally sponsored, governed by a board of directors, and led by Director Melanie Plenda. No AI/ML technology stack is in evidence; the infrastructure is a coordination and content-sharing model rather than a software platform.

Name

Granite State News Collaborative

Legal name

Granite State News Collaborative

Website

https://collaborativenh.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Granite State News Collaborative is a New Hampshire statewide nonprofit journalism network connecting 20+ local news, education, and community organizations through co-reporting, cross-publishing, and programs like Civic Documenters NH and the bilingual NH Informado initiative.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Collaborative Nonprofit News Network

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (813410), Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Human Rights Organizations (813311), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Radio Broadcasting Stations (4832), Television Broadcasting Stations (4833)

akta.pro primary industry

Local & Regional Newspapers (Print & Digital) (MPAJADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Public Media Partnerships & Content Co-productions (NGO/Cultural) (MPABADAN), National Public Television Networks & Member Stations (PBS-style) (MPABADAA), National Public Radio Networks & Member Stations (NPR-style) (MPABADAB), Government & Public Sector Conferences (MPAGAGAH), Federated Giving Organizations (e.g., United Way-type) (BPAGAKAG)

Keywords

• Collaborative journalism network
• Nonprofit local news
• Community journalism training
• Solutions journalism reporting
• Investigative reporting collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

New Hampshire

HQ country

Grenada

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic grants: GSNC receives funding from foundations including Knight Foundation ($100,000/year for 2 years), NH Charitable Foundation ($50,000 general operating, $25,000 strategic planning, $32,000 COVID-19), Endowment for Health ($15,000), Couch Family Foundation ($10,000), Eversource Energy Foundation ($5,000), NH Women's Foundation ($3,000), Eppes-Jefferson Foundation ($15,000). All services are free to member outlets.
2. Individual donations: The organization accepts public donations through campaigns like NH Gives, NewsMatch (matching funds), and the NH Community News Fund. GSNC is a fiscally sponsored nonprofit relying on public support.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Granite State News Collaborative is a statewide nonprofit network of more than 20 local news, education, and community organizations that coordinates collaborative reporting, shares stories and data across partner outlets, and provides community journalism training and public education programming. It produces collaborative investigative series, bilingual Spanish-English news through NH Informado, civic journalism training via Civic Documenters NH, and podcasts and digital shows in partnership with NHPR and NH PBS. All services are provided free of charge to member outlets and funded by foundation grants and public donations.

Product overview

Granite State News Collaborative is a statewide nonprofit journalism network that operates as a collaborative platform connecting more than 20 local news, education, and community organizations. Rather than a single unified product, GSNC functions as a coordination hub offering multiple interconnected journalism programs: collaborative reporting and content sharing across partner outlets, community engagement initiatives like Civic Documenters NH (training citizens to cover government meetings) and Know Your News (public education on press freedom), specialized coverage programs including the bilingual NH Informado initiative and the Race and Equity Initiative, media programs such as The Granite Beat podcast and The State We're In digital show co-produced with NH PBS, and training projects including Local News Lab high school mentoring and Community Journalism Project. The organization provides these services free to member outlets while filling coverage gaps created by industry cutbacks through shared resources, freelance investigative reporters, and cross-publication of stories statewide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NH Community News Fund: Program that supports collaborative reporting, civic information, and trusted local journalism across New Hampshire
• NH Informado
• Civic Documenters NH (CivDoc)
• Know Your News
• Local News Lab
• The Granite Beat

Products and services

• Collaborative Reporting Projects Co-reported, coordinated and shared coverage of major issues impacting New Hampshire through a shared news exchange and project management services for partner news outlets.
• Civic Documenters NH Community journalism training program that teaches New Hampshire residents to document government and school meetings and assist local journalists. Participants receive stipends for meetings covered.
• NH Informado Bilingual Spanish-English news initiative providing news, stories and resources in Spanish to serve New Hampshire's Latino community, in partnership with NHPR and NHPBS.
• Race and Equity Initiative Multi-year initiative highlighting stories of people of color, partnering to amplify voices, and investigating policies with disproportionate negative impacts on communities of color and other marginalized groups in New Hampshire.
• The Granite Beat Podcast Weekly podcast produced in partnership with The Laconia Daily Sun featuring interviews with journalists covering news in New Hampshire, exploring the process of bringing stories from idea to publication.
• The State We're In Digital public affairs show co-produced with NH PBS featuring in-depth reporting and civil discourse on New Hampshire state issues, including bilingual election explainers.
• Know Your News Public education campaign exploring how press freedom, open government, and local journalism affect everyday life, from school budgets to tax dollars.
• Local News Lab - High School Mentoring High school mentoring program designed to support and train the next generation of journalists in New Hampshire.
• NH Community News Fund Fund supporting collaborative reporting, civic information, and trusted local journalism across New Hampshire.
• Publisher's Crawl Event showcasing and celebrating local news publishers across New Hampshire.
• Community Journalism Project Training program teaching community members journalism skills including interviewing, media ethics, and public information requests to cover local municipal meetings, with a focus on training women as citizen journalists.
• Solutions Journalism Rigorous reporting that highlights solutions to social problems, examining responses alongside problems to build engagement, trust, and hope in democracy.

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Nackey S. Loeb School of CommunicationscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Partner in Civic Documenters program, providing journalism training and education. The school trains community members in covering local government meetings.
• New England First Amendment Coalition (NEFAC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Co-partner in Civic Documenters program, providing First Amendment expertise and hosting program applications at nefac.org/civdoc.
• Franklin Pierce UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022Partner in Community Journalism Project through the Marlin Fitzwater Center. Hosted Behavioral Health community engagement event on campus.
• Solutions Journalism NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2020Administers Knight Foundation grant and provides training and technical assistance. Most of GSNC's funding comes through SJN.
• NH Public Radio (NHPR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2020NHPR is a key partner in the collaborative, contributing radio journalism and co-producing content including the NH Informado Spanish-language news initiative '¿Qué Hay de Nuevo, NH?' launched May 2020.
• New Hampshire PBS (NHPBS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHPBS is a founding partner, contributing broadcast capabilities and co-producing 'The State We're In' digital public affairs show and video content including bilingual election explainers.
• The Laconia Daily SuncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner producing 'The Granite Beat' podcast with GSNC, co-hosting Civic Documenters program for Laconia/Franklin/Tilton/Bristol/Gilford region.
• NH InformadocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative group of journalists and Latino community members launched April 2020 to improve Spanish-language news access. Produces bilingual election content with NHPR and NHPBS.
• Keene SentinelcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFifth oldest continuously published newspaper in the US (since 1799). Partner in Civic Documenters pilot (Monadnock Region) and co-reporting on behavioral health issues.
• Manchester Ink LinkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFounded by Carol Robidoux, founding member of GSNC. Contributed to 'Invisible Walls' series and various collaborative projects.
• Citizens CountsupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCivic engagement nonprofit partner helping distribute news and information. Co-hosting presidential candidate forums.
• Concord MonitorcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMajor newspaper partner, co-hosting NH News Philanthropy Summit with GSNC. Publisher Steve Leone participates in collaborative events.
• Student Journalism CoalitionsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to support high school journalism programs across NH and elevate student voices in coverage.
• Organizational Ignition, LLCsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerEngaged to facilitate conversations on diversity and help GSNC become a more inclusive organization as part of diversity focus.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• VTDigger: VTDigger is a Vermont-based nonprofit digital news outlet producing in-depth investigative and public affairs journalism. It is the closest geographic and structural analog to GSNC — a statewide, nonprofit, member-supported news organization — making it a directly comparable peer.
• Honolulu Civil Beat: Honolulu Civil Beat is a nonprofit statewide news organization in Hawaii covering government, politics, and civic affairs. It shares GSNC's model of foundation-supported statewide accountability journalism.
• Montana Free Press: Montana Free Press is a statewide nonprofit digital news outlet covering policy and government in Montana. It is a directly comparable nonprofit statewide news organization with a similar mission and funding model to GSNC.
• NJ Spotlight News: NJ Spotlight News is a New Jersey-based nonprofit policy and accountability newsroom. It mirrors GSNC's statewide, foundation-funded approach to in-depth civic journalism.
• CalMatters: CalMatters is a California statewide nonprofit newsroom covering policy and politics through collaboration with regional outlets. Like GSNC, it pools philanthropic funding to sustain investigative reporting and serves an underserved information need at the state level.
• Wisconsin Watch: Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit investigative newsroom covering state government and policy. Like GSNC, it relies on foundation grants and collaborates with regional outlets across Wisconsin.
• The Connecticut Mirror: The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit statewide news outlet covering state policy, politics, and accountability journalism. It is structurally similar to GSNC as a foundation-funded statewide nonprofit news organization.

Others

• Institute for Nonprofit News (INN): INN is the umbrella network of which GSNC is a member. It serves as an infrastructure, training, and capacity-building organization for nonprofit newsrooms — directly supporting GSNC's operations rather than competing with them.
• Solutions Journalism Network: Solutions Journalism Network administers GSNC's Knight Foundation grant and provides training/technical assistance. It is an ecosystem enabler and direct funding intermediary for GSNC's work, not a competitor.

Emerging players

• MLK50: Justice Through Journalism: MLK50 is a smaller nonprofit investigative newsroom in Memphis focused on economic and racial justice. It shares GSNC's Race and Equity Initiative orientation and nonprofit investigative model, though at a smaller, more focused scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/newsgranite
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/granite-state-news-collaborative

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Granite State News Collaborative