Site Url: http://dakotafire.net
Target community: James River Valley of North and South Dakota
Is the site active?
Professional journalists?
Paid staff?
Is the site part of a network?
Is the site a media affiliate?
Content created by:
Who contributes to your content?
- Professional journalists: %
- Community members: 5%
- Students: 5%
- Aggregate content of others:
- Others: 5%
Site's focus:
Target audience size: 25,000 to 50,000
Year founded: 2011
Who or what started your project?
Update frequency: weekly or several times a week
Which online networks do you use?
- Facebook: DakotafireMedia
- Twitter: @DakotafireMedia
Does your site aggregate content from other online sites? No
Does your site provide training? Yes
Business model: Education affiliated
What are your sources of revenue?- How many full time staffers: 1
- How many part-time staffers: 14
- How many volunteers: 1
- How many students: 1
Annual operating budget: between $100,000 and $300,00 per year
Contact Information
Location: Frederick, SD, United States of America
Contact URL: http://dakotafire.net/contact/
1 means "not very important" and 6 means "very important"
- Covering news not covered: 6
- Watchdogging local government and public officials: 2
- Investigating issues or wrongdoings: 6
- Helping your community solve problems: 6
- Empowering community members: 4
- Developing opportunities for community dialogue: 4
- Collaborating with local partners: 2
- Involving community to shape local content: 2
- Making a profit: 3
- Being a sustainable operation:
What else should people know about your site?
Dakotafire is team of community journalists reporting on issues important to rural communities in the James River Valley of North and South Dakota.
Our goal is to give a "big picture" view of the challenges our communities face -- from the way past generations have addressed similar problems to the insights of experts who study these issues to the way others in the region and beyond are finding solutions -- so the people who live here have the information they need to make the best decisions about the issues that affect their lives.
By working together, we can cover topics that we could not address as successfully alone. We hope the "common voice" of Dakotafire helps the people of the region see one another as allies in facing common challenges and opportunities.
The results of this reporting are published in participating newspapers, online at Dakotafire.net and in a quarterly magazine.
Dakotafire stories are designed to spark discussion, to challenge conventional thinking and to get people to consider alternative possibilities. We are fostering a regionwide conversation on Dakotafire.net, on Facebook (search for Dakotafire Media) and Twitter (@DakotafireMedia) and on our new forum site, DakotafireCafe.com.
As part of the Knight Community Information Challenge, the three-year project has received $240,000 in support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and $60,000 from the South Dakota Community Foundation, with additional support coming from Dacotah Bank, Citibank, other foundations, and corporate and individual sponsors.
The project is being implemented by Dakotafire Media, LLC, a media company based in Frederick, S.D., owned by Heidi Marttila-Losure and Troy McQuillen.