About the Fund
for Investigative Reporting and Editing (FIRE)
Mission
More About FIRE's Purpose and Activities
Funding, and How You Can Contribute
Service Area
Board Members
Staff Members
Other Members of the FIRE Team
Mission
Our mission is to promote locally-based reporting that encourages
citizen participation and the sense of community in the Southern
Appalachian Mountain region. Because we believe that a strong
democracy is based on freedom of speech and access to public
information, we provide resources to local activists, reporters
and editors who favor these principles.
More About FIRE's Purpose and
Activities
When a rural, community-based media organization goes out
of business, it is often a death knell for the whole town.
As development in our region increases, it is important to
us to preserve our Appalachian culture as we embrace the new.
This is the purpose of FIRE, a non-profit organization located
in Asheville, NC.
For example, when growth occurs, larger media organizations
often replace smaller ones. Daily newspapers are usually established
or purchased by conglomerates. These papers ultimately tend
to base their editorial and content decisions on factors determined
by a distantly-located headquarters. Healthy debate (or controversy)
is often geared toward middle-to-higher income individuals
who advertise with the media outlet. In some communities,
residents complain that short shrift is given to stories about
people who have lower incomes or belong to minority populations.
For these reasons, FIRE encourages citizen participation and access to information
by supporting community media, nonprofit organizations and other worthy community
endeavors. Media and nonprofit organizations need support because they are community-based,
have very limited resources and are much more likely to focus on issues which
directly impact their communities.
FIRE currently offers two services that are designed to support free exchange
of information in Appalachian communities. First, FIRE conducts seminars for
community-based journalists and nonprofit employees/volunteers to help them
learn how to conduct research and how to access public information quickly and
efficiently. Second, FIRE operates a free online archive at this site so that
community residents and journalists can gain immediate access to new or old
stories. Before FIRE launched this archive, there was no affordable mechanism
that would enable anyone to search for this information. Even the reporters
and editors at the media organizations often could not easily locate old stories,
if they could at all.
Some people may remember FIRE when Calvin Allen and his staff
did a lot of hands-on research and writing for news organizations
in western North Carolina. Those stories led to positive action
on many community concerns that had gone unreported. FIRE
has now switched from "doing" to "teaching,"
and is not currently providing reporters or funding to conduct
investigative reporting.
Funding
FIRE is also supported by seminar participants, community
media organizations and individuals. We are always appreciative
of support! Follow these links to use our website to become
a FIRE contributor or volunteer:
Tell Me More About Contributing
What Volunteer Opportunities Are
Available?
Service Area
FIRE focuses its efforts on Western North Carolina, although it occasionally
provides services to residents of neighboring states. Anyone can use FIRE's
online archive for free, but only media organizations based in Western North
Carolina, and special interest publications throughout North Carolina, are eligible
to post stories on the archive at no charge. Organizations served include non-daily
news or documentary media outlets, and media organizations serving members of
a specific minority, gender or sexual orientation. Other community-based and
special interest publications outside of FIRE’s service area may archive
stories for a fee. Please note that while FIRE's focus in North Carolina is
on the western part of the state, all special interest publications in NC are
served.
North Carolina: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood,
Henderson, Jackson, McDowell, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Polk, Swain, Transylvania,
and Yancey (special interest publications from all counties in NC are served)
Board Members
Jeff Fobes, President
Mary Ellen Brown
Nelda Holder
C. B. Squire
Staff Members
Ann Wilder, Consultant
Christina Kaufmann, Archive Volunteer
Bill Scobie, Computer Lab
Provider and "safety net of solutions"
Mountain Area
Information Network (MAIN), Seminar Hardware Provider
Black
Box Studio, Original Web Design and Site Programming
|
