Our 2023 Work
Our 2023 Accomplishments
In our first full year as River City Journalism Fund, we are proud to have published some important stories — and amplified voices not always heard in the St. Louis media landscape.
That includes these highlights:
- Supporting and encouraging the work of Julian Trejo. As the inaugural RCJF fellow, this first-generation college student covered St. Louis SC’s first season for multiple publications and offered a powerful exploration of his name and identity for the Riverfront Times and St. Louis Public Radio.
- Investing in critical investigative journalism with in-depth pieces such as Mike Fitzgerald’s investigations digging deeply into city and state programs, and our chairman Richard Weiss’ groundbreaking reporting on residents of the Pruitt-Igoe housing complex, whose homes were sprayed with potential carcinogens by the government but who have been left behind in efforts to compensate its victims.
- Commissioning explanatory journalism on important subjects, including a three-part series looking at our region’s readiness for climate change and a close look at our public transit service failing to meet the needs of riders with disabilities.
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Celebrating what’s working in our region with stories such as Jeannette Cooperman’s profile of 100-year-old activist Gloria Gordon.
With your support, we look forward to more impactful work in 2024, including some major journalistic investigations and our second fellowship.
River City’s inaugural fellow, Julian Trejo, describes how he came to write about his incarcerated father in a cover story for the St. Louis Riverfront Times in a conversation with RCJF Executive Director Sarah Fenske.