We have something big to announce.
Baldwin County is growing. Fast.
That's it.
Just kidding. Because we all know that. Whether you've lived here for one day or your entire life, whether you visit once a week a year or escape your northern winters down on the Alabama Gulf Coast, you know this.
Baldwin County now has the sixth-fastest growing metro area in the U.S. The Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL MSA (metro statistical area) moved up a spot based on 2023-2024 population numbers. Reporting on the topic of growth and development is important, maybe one of the most important aspects impacting our life down here along the Alabama Gulf Coast. But we're right now only scratching the surface. Our newsroom, while talented and beyond hard-working, can only do so much with each person.
To meet the county's growth and the need for the local news to follow it, Gulf Coast Media is growing, too.
GCM has been chosen to serve as a host newsroom for the Report for America program, which is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project. Report for America is a national service program that places talented early career journalists in local newsrooms (like ours) to report on under-covered topics and communities across the United States and its territories. By creating a new, sustainable model for journalism, Report for America provides people with the information they need to improve their communities, hold powerful institutions accountable, and restore trust in the media.
Have questions? Email me at kayla@gulfcoastmedia.com to chat there or set up a time to talk on the phone or meet.
Growth and development is apparent in every corner of this paradise we call home, from the coast to the Eastern Shore to our rural roots steeped in agriculture older than the state of Alabama itself. Stories surrounding the rapid changes associated with continued Baldwin County population boom abound. It's kind of impossible to cover it all, but we're committed to telling these stories, whether about aging and expanding infrastructure, education system capacities workforce development or the myriad ways growth and development is impacting the environment, the natural world and its wildlife. The things that give this region our personality. That give us a strong economy, sustains countless jobs. Our quality of life.
But, again, you probably know this.
So here's the real news:
The problems local journalism faces are not going to be solved by turning to social media or letting the only voices behind the microphone be officials promoting only their side of the story.
GCM will have a corps member join our newsroom this summer. This reporter's work will be dedicated to telling the local stories, at a grassroots level, that matter to us. They'll look into every way growth and development impacts our corner of the world. Some of these stories we've scratched the surface on. So many others are there waiting to be brought into the light, from the depths of the gulf and the foundations of new construction sites to the water towers and winding waters of the Mobile-Tensaw.
We're beyond excited and ready for this opportunity, but we need help to make it happen sustainably. We're asking for a different kind of support than subscriptions. You can help back this work in a big way with a donation to the Gulf Coast Media Local News Fund. As a Report for America host newsroom, any donation you make to the fund is tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsorship with The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.
You can support Gulf Coast Media's mission to bring the best in local news to Baldwin County, to help us dive deep into stories currently going untold. Any amount, big or small, will make a direct impact to our small but mighty team over the next two years (three if we get enough support).
Be part of this story. Help us help you live better.
