What’s in this guide 👇🏿
Cleveland Documenters is part of City Bureau’s Documenters Network and is powered by **Signal Ohio.** Cleveland Documenters launched in 2020 as a partnership between City Bureau and Neighborhood Connections in Cleveland, Ohio. We were the third Documenters program, after Chicago and Detroit.
In 2022, Cleveland Documenters became part of Signal Cleveland, the inaugural newsroom in the Signal Ohio network of independent, community-led, nonprofit newsrooms.
At Signal Cleveland, we produce authoritative, trustworthy daily journalism across a range of topics, including government, economy, education, health, and safety and resilience. We’re also home to Cleveland Documenters, a group of about 950 Greater Cleveland residents who represent almost every ZIP code in the county. They are trained and paid to cover public meetings.
Together, we are a primary source of information for residents who may not otherwise have access to trusted local journalism, and we’re available online, via email, and on social platforms. Our website has explainers and guides to help residents navigate life in Cleveland, and it serves as a growing civic tool for our city. We also hold community gatherings and trainings, and we’re present every day in Cleveland communities.
Signal Ohio is a nonprofit initiative formed by a coalition of Ohio-based organizations and the American Journalism Project. Our newsrooms in Signal Cleveland, Signal Akron, and Signal Statewide newsrooms are just the beginning (Signal Cincinnati is coming soon). We’re on a mission to provide local news for Ohio that is reflective of all our local communities, and anchored in their needs. Our journalism equips residents to be more civically engaged in the places where they live.
Each of Signal Ohio’s local newsrooms have a Documenters program: Cleveland Documenters, Akron Documenters, and **Cincinnati Documenters**. Each program collaborates with its newsroom to share information Documenters raise up on assignment, and to “signal boost” Documenters’ work.
Cleveland Documenters is a growing community, and we love to hear from you!
For questions about the program, please reach out to **[email protected]** or call 216-202-4383.
Sign up for Signal Cleveland’s newsletters **here.**
Doug Breehl-Pitorak started as a Cleveland Documenter in the fall of 2020, when the community first got together. In subsequent roles with the program, including as the inaugural Civic Reporter, Doug realized the only thing better than learning about local government and civic participation as an individual Documenter was learning about it through the varied perspectives of all Documenters. As Signal Cleveland’s founding Documenters Assignment Editor, Doug leads the Cleveland program and cultivates an inviting, growth-oriented space for Documenters to ensure the work at the core of our community remains approachable, understandable, and enjoyable..