Some big news from COURIER
COURIER is expanding into nine new markets in 2026
Hey everyone,
I’m excited to share some big news from the COURIER team: Over the coming months, we will be launching nine (!) new local newsrooms across the country — bringing our successful model of values-driven, independent political and cultural journalism to communities in California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, and Utah. 🚀
That means by the end of 2026, our local news network will span 20 states in addition to our national outlet and bureau in Washington D.C.—each with its own on-the-ground reporters, online products and digital channels, all dedicated to reporting local stories, amplifying community voices, and connecting the dots on how politics and policy actually impact people’s lives.
Read more about our growth plans here in Axios >>
This expansion comes on the heels of a huge year of growth for COURIER. In 2025 alone, we more than doubled our online audience from 4 million to over 9 million followers and subscribers, and delivered over 4.5 billion content views across platforms, all by meeting readers and viewers where they are online with fearless coverage of the stories that matter most.
While so much of the legacy media world is disappearing or bending the knee to the current administration, COURIER is growing faster than ever, and it’s no accident. When we launched COURIER in our first six states in 2019, we were laser-focused on building a new kind of news organization—one that was transparent and unabashed about our values, and that centered the communities we serve in our reporting and distribution strategies—communities that have been left behind by traditional media that cater primarily to elite audiences today. That vision became a reality through the extraordinary work of our 100+ reporters, correspondents, and staff, who in the face of the most anti-press administration in our history, have not only delivered on our mission each and every day since, but who continue to ask what more they can do to hold this corrupt administration accountable.
Over the past 6+ years, our newsrooms and reporters have won dozens of state and national press awards, broken heartwrenching and policy-moving stories, and built innovative tools to make critical information more accessible to more people. This rapid expansion of our model is a testament to that work, and would also not be possible without the support of our brave investors, underwriting partners, sponsors, and most of all, the tens of thousands of readers and subscribers who donate to our newsrooms with their hard-earned dollars each and every day. Doing this work is both a privilege and a responsibility our team takes incredibly seriously, and we will never compromise on our values or mission to build a more informed, empowered, and civically engaged America.
This expansion to nine new states and communities brings us one big step closer to our long-term goal: bringing our values-driven news and content to people beyond the political bubble in all 50 states and U.S. territories, while setting a precedent for others on what credible social-first local journalism can look like.
In order to be successful, we know that our team’s growth will require even more support from this community, as well as buy-in from new partners on the ground in the states where we plan to work. We truly have no time to waste in getting these new newsrooms off the ground, so if you work in media, advocacy or just have meaningful networks in the states we are bringing COURIER to this year, please reach out to us, and spread the word to help us hit the ground running. You can find job descriptions for some of the new roles we’re hiring for here.
If you want to learn more about our work or follow along as our new newsrooms go live, check out our beautiful new local network site at courierlocal.com
At COURIER, we believe that the future of news that our democracy urgently depends on is honest, accessible, transparent, and powered by communities, not corrupt corporate conglomerates or ragebait— and it starts right here and now with all of us. Thank you for being part of this journey and this work as we build the media ecosystem we all deserve, together.