Frustrated by the dearth of women and people of color in the media, as well as all the white men dominating newsrooms, in 2020 a motivated group of women and LGBTQ+ journalists banded together to buck the status quo and launch The 19th* News. Based in Austin, Texas, the digital news start-up is named after the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote, but with an asterisk to acknowledge the Black women and women of color who were omitted. The 19th*’s work is guided by the asterisk–—asking who is overlooked in the story and how they can be included.

Breaking The News is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.