Our Mission & Vision
City Bureau is a civic media lab that designs people-powered journalism practices and supports their local adoption and adaptation across the country.
We envision a world where all communities have the information, tools, and resources they need to navigate their lives, shape their futures, and cultivate a more just and participatory democracy.
Explore City Bureau’s bold future in our strategic plan.
To learn more about our programs and impact, check out our annual reports.
Our Core Values
Collective action over individual heroics.
Our work is about strengthening ecosystems, not centering ourselves. We strive for transformative, structural change that redistributes power, expands access, and builds equity across communities.
Democracy means our lives are connected.
Local journalism matters because it helps us see our connection to each other. We welcome everyone into our work because all of us have expertise, and everyone’s lived experience matters to show the full picture of life in our communities.
The process matters as much as the product.
We learn best when we are honest and open about our successes and failures. We create time for analysis because lasting change happens in collaboration, and collaboration requires reflection.
Place shapes everything we do.
City Bureau was born and is rooted in Chicago, and shaped by the realities, needs, and histories of our hometown. Our commitment to Chicago mirrors our respect for the local experience of our partners in communities across the country. We work together nationally so we can make an impact on the ground locally.
Racial Equity Commitment
City Bureau is a part of the Just Action Racial Equity Collaborative. We are committed to the ongoing racial justice work necessary to abolish racist systems and structures and build equitable ones.
For further reading on City Bureau's philosophies, please see our Community Engagement Guidelines and Notebook blog.
City Bureau Co-founders
Bettina Chang stepped down from City Bureau in 2024 and is currently a Program Manager at the Skyline Foundation. She is a City Bureau co-founder and previously served as Director of Chicago Programs. An editor by trade, her career has spanned roles and mediums, including trade magazines, traditional newspapers, digital audience strategy, product design, newsroom training, organizational development and non-profit executive leadership.
Harry Backlund currently serves as City Bureau’s Chief Strategy Officer, and the founding publisher of the South Side Weekly, a volunteer-run community newspaper in Chicago.
Andrea Hart stepped down from City Bureau in 2020 and is currently Director of Donor Engagement at Access Reproductive Care–Southeast. She's a co-founder of City Bureau and previously served as Community Engagement Director. She is an award-winning media-based organizer and educator who most recently served as chief strategy officer for the Memphis-based MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. She also has a master’s of divinity from Vanderbilt Divinity School and describes herself as a “proud queer Quaker.”
Darryl Holliday stepped down from City Bureau in 2023 and is currently the co-founder and partner of Commoner Company. He is a co-founder of City Bureau and previously served as the Executive Director of National Impact. He's a Studs Terkel Award-winning journalist, founder of the Illustrated Press and reporter formerly with DNAinfo Chicago.
Learn more about City Bureau's impact across collaborative community-centered journalism reporting and projects here!