NOLA Defender, The Lens, Uptown Messenger and My Spilt Milk unite to strengthen New Orleans' independent online digital news options. 

Today, I'm pleased to announce that My Spilt Milk has joined with NOLA Defender, The Lens and Uptown Messenger to form the New Orleans Digital News Alliance. We share a commitment to the importance of locally owned, independent news online, and see our coverage of the city not as a profession but a form of community engagement. Our collective goal is to provide sustainable, up-to-the-minute, hyperlocal online journalism serving the New Orleans community.  

Each site has a distinctive mission. NOLA Defender refers to itself as an alt-daily  that provides hyperlocal coverage of politics, crime, and culture in Southern Louisiana; Uptown Messenger covers the people and events of New Orleans' Uptown neighborhoods, reporting on government, crime, schools, business and culture; The Lens is the city’s first nonprofit, public-interest newsroom; and My Spilt Milk takes a timely look at New Orleans' culture with an emphasis on music. Collectively, we provide valuable information and perspectives on the Crescent City.

"As journalism continues to evolve in the digital age, we are all committed to filling our city's need  for more professional reporters on the ground," says the Uptown Messenger's Robert Morris. "Each of us represents a different entrepreneurial approach to the news, but we are all working to  ensure that New Orleanians are better informed than ever before."

“Our newsrooms bring different expertise and points of view,” says Steve Beatty, managing editor of The Lens. “By promoting each other’s work, our readers will appreciate and benefit from these diverse angles of coverage.”

As you consider your online information options, I encourage you to add NOLA Defender, The Lens and Uptown Messenger to your RSS feed or regular reading.