🏆 WINNER: The 51st
When WAMU suddenly shut DCist down last February, laying off 15 employees, it left a gaping hole in local journalism. To fill it, six former DCist reporters started the 51st, a non-profit publication committed to covering hyper-local news. Not only did they get multiple write-in nominations for our people’s choice award, but they also received a unanimous vote from our panel.
The City Cast 6 Local Hero Award recognizes a person or group doing important work to uplift the D.C. community, no matter the scale. 2024 is our inaugural year for this award.
The 51st — a nod to the District of Columbia’s lack of statehood — is still small in scale, publishing a few articles each week, but outsized in impact. Its coverage has ranged from D.C. home rule and homebuyers programs to local day trips and fall walk recommendations.
A worker-run newsroom is becoming somewhat of a rarity in local news, and allows The 51st to maintain full editorial control and focus on their mission: to demystify opaque city and civic processes and celebrate what makes D.C. special.
In July, The 51st launched an incredibly successful crowdfunding campaign, raising $250,000 in just one month from more than 3,000 donors. This funding was matched bringing the non-profit to $500,000 which, co-founder Abigail Higgins said should sustain them for their first year. While the community support is undeniable, like so many news organizations, long-term sustainability remains a question.
“Not only is the fundraising The 51st has done remarkably impressive,” said Washington Post reporter and City Cast 6 panelist Michael Brice-Saddler, “but they are filling a much-needed chasm in local print media that was worsened especially when WAMU mostly shuttered last year.”
Local newsrooms across the country have been dwindling, and D.C. is no exception. In addition to the death of DCist, Washington Post’s local section also endured massive cuts this fall. The 51st represents a new kind of local media, one that is challenging assumptions, and has the public’s support. Who better to take home the City Cast 6 Local Hero award for 2024?
"We’re thrilled that our little start-up has been named a City Cast 6 community hero --- but we literally wouldn’t exist today without the support of the community," said The 51st co-founder Colleen Grablick. "We took a risk with our launch, and it’s only thanks to the folks who believed in the importance of worker-led local news and trusted in our mission that we’re able to publish. We couldn’t be more excited to see what we can keep making together."
🥈 RUNNERS-UP:
- Jayden Daniels — Quarterback for the Washington Commanders.
- Girls Rock DC — A non-profit music program for young people to learn, grow, and rock out.
- Raya Kenney — An activist trying to get a women’s WWII memorial for the National Mall.
- DC Public Library — For their work on child and adult education programs.
Our Selection Process:
To ensure the veracity of the awards, we chatted with dozens of field experts across D.C., conducted listener and reader polls, and did our own research to come up with nominations. Finally, we had a public vote to help our panel of experts — Washington Post's Michael Brice-Saddler, Axios' Anna Spiegel, and Greater Greater Washington’s Dan Reed — select the winners.
The City Cast 6 awards, sponsored by Christopher Nace and the trial lawyers at Paulson & Nace, honor D.C.’s standout visionaries across six distinct categories. Read about the other winners.
