Covering Milwaukee's Central City Communities

The housed in the Diederich College of Communication at 探花视频, is a nonprofit news organization that covers Milwaukee鈥檚 diverse neighborhoods. All editorial decisions are made by its staff and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of the university.

Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, often referred to as NNS, is an ambitious, collaborative and pioneering news organization that for 14 years has delivered fact-based reporting to communities of color in Milwaukee. In 2024, following many successful collaborations, NNS merged with as part of a bold vision to rebuild local news in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.

Milwaukee NNS鈥檚 editorial vision 

To provide reader-centered reporting that:  

• Celebrates the ordinary people who do extraordinary things in the city to  balance out the over emphasis of trauma and drama in communities of color;  
• Educates the community about resources that are available to help them navigate the complexities of life;  
• Illuminates through watchdog reporting and explanatory journalism significant issues of interest for and in our communities; 
• Innovates through the use of technology such as texting, videos, audio, etc. that elevates our storytelling to engage and meet residents where they  are. 

NNS reporter PrincessSafiya Byers, a College of Communication alumnus,  knows that showing up in the community is the only way to authentically tell the stories of residents. (Photo provided by the Institute for Nonprofit News)

Questions?

Contact Ron Smith, editor/project director of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service