Mahoning Matters to Be Moved Under McClatchy Umbrella
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Mahoning Matters, the experimental local news website that was launched in October 2019 in the wake of the closing of The Vindicator newspaper, is undergoing changes in its managerial structure.
In an effort to become financially sustainable, Mahoning Matters will become part of the news division of the McClatchy Co., a media company that owns newspapers in 30 U.S. cities.
“Mahoning Matters will continue to deliver strong, independent local reporting to Youngstown and the Mahoning Valley,” said Jeanne Segal, director of public relations for McClatchy.
Mahoning Matters is part of The Compass Experiment, a venture in which McClatchy and Google News attempted to launch self-sustaining news websites in Youngstown and Longmont, Colo.
The coming changes will enable Mahoning Matters to benefit from McClatchy’s network of business and news resources.
“One of the hardest lessons we have learned so far is how difficult it is to efficiently operate local news sites without the benefits of a network,” wrote Mandy Jenkins, general manager of Mahoning Matters, in a letter posted Wednesday on Medium.com.
Jenkins also said she will be leaving the company in the near future, along with two other Compass Experiment employees who are not part of the Youngstown news-gathering team.
Eric Nelson of the Kansas City Star, a McClatchy newspaper, will become senior editor of The Compass Experiment.
Sacramento, Calif.-based McClatchy filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 2020.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
