Creating Change Through Civic Journalism

Photo by Hannah Jones, Atlanta Civic Circle

By Sara Baxter

In summer 2018, Britton Edwards, a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Social Innovation program, was on what she calls “the edge of an exciting opportunity.”

She was working as managing editor for SaportaReport, an online news source popular with Atlanta’s civic, government and business leaders. She and her boss, veteran Atlanta journalist Maria Saporta, and Bill Bolling, founder of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, were working on plans to start a new journalistic endeavor — one that would focus on civic journalism, promote civic engagement and give people the opportunity to have a voice.

“We started thinking about deeper engagement and what that would look like in the journalism space,” she says. “We didn’t want to just report on issues; we wanted to provide resources and engage people in actual calls to action.”

Out of those conversations came Atlanta Civic Circle, a nonprofit organization dedicated to civic journalism. After the nonprofit was registered in fall 2018, Edwards spent the following two years building a board of directors, shaping the organization and securing funding.

To hone her leadership skills, she enrolled in the Master of Arts in Social Innovation program at Agnes Scott College, in which students learn to take business principles and adapt them to solve complex, real-world challenges to effect positive change. Edwards defines a social innovator as someone who sees a social problem and wants to work with the community and leadership in the community to solve that problem.

“My favorite part of the program has been getting to know the other students in my cohort,” she says. “All of them are incredible people with big goals and energy. I feel like we are very supportive of each other in terms of the ventures we are working on and our goals.”

When Atlanta Civic Circle launched in January 2021, Edwards was at the helm, leading the venture as its first director. In her role, she oversees the creation of the nonprofit’s focus areas, identifies funding opportunities and works with the editorial team to make sure content is actionable and solutions-oriented. She also manages various partnerships with other publications and community organizations.

Though she did not plan for her current job, Edwards says that the positions she has held up until this point helped lay the groundwork for this next step in her career. After she graduated with an English degree from the University of the South, her first job out of college was as deputy press secretary for Georgia’s Sen. Saxby Chambliss. From there, she began a long career in marketing, public relations and digital communications. Atlanta Civic Circle represents an important personal part of her career journey.

“Being a part of this startup aligns with my passion for giving back to the community and doing it in a professional setting,” she says, adding that that passion was fueled when she was part of the Atlanta Women’s Foundation 2019 Inspire Atlanta leadership class. “That opened my eyes to the issues that needed to be addressed and the things that could be done.”

Civic journalism involves educating and informing readers on critical issues, helping to identify solutions and bringing stakeholders to the table. The hope is that civic journalism will lead to civic education, and in turn, to civic engagement.

“We want to bring everyone together to effect change, whether it’s policy awareness or educating the community through journalism,” Edwards says. “I think a lot of people don’t know where to start, and sometimes it feels too big to start. If we can give people three ideas on how to make a small difference, then that can grow into something much bigger.”

From left to right: Agnes Scott College graduate student and Atlanta Civic Circle Director Britton Edwards, Special Advisor Maria Saporta, Board of Directors Chair Bill Bolling, and Board of Directors member Judith Service Montier. Photo by Hannah Jones, Atlanta Civic Circle.

At its launch, Atlanta Civic Circle had two focus areas, or “civic circles” — democracy and affordable housing. Affordable housing is a critical issue as Atlanta’s population continues to grow, outpacing the number of affordable units. Experts fear that after the pandemic, that will get worse.

“We’re going to see a tsunami of evictions and an epidemic of homelessness and a need for affordable units across the city that are readily available,” Edwards predicts. “Our goal there is to find the best way to support the city, developers and leaders in that arena and report to the community about the progress.”

Within the other focus area — democracy — the goal is to gather information in one place for readers, such as implications of new voting laws and redistricting shaped by the census.

Edwards says the issues of equity and inclusion are embedded in all the Atlanta Civic Circle’s work, especially when expanding into new areas of coverage. They plan to bring their audience and journalists together with experts on various topics to get input on what should be covered next.

“We will be hiring writers with diverse backgrounds so we can have discussions in our newsroom and know that we’re looking at things from all angles and perspectives,” she says. “I hope we can have real conversations with people across the entire city and amplify voices that haven’t had a chance to speak out before.”