About us
Our Mission
Press On is a Southern media collective that catalyzes change and advances justice through the practice of movement journalism.
We are journalists, storytellers, and organizers rooted in, and practicing solidarity with, oppressed communities that birth social movements.
We are based in the South, and we strive to uphold Southern traditions of storytelling that have long resisted the systems of extraction, exploitation, and colonization that have defined mainstream journalism.
By providing a diverse set of resources including trainings, fellowships and opportunities for network-building, Press On aims to help journalists and storytellers produce reporting that’s driven by communities that are building power to create transformative social change.
Movement Journalism
Movement journalism is journalism in service to liberation. This does not mean turning journalists into soapboxes for activists, but fostering collaboration between journalists and grassroots movements, and supporting journalism created by oppressed and marginalized people.
Our Values
WE BELIEVE that the South is the critical site for leadership in the growing practice of movement journalism, and that Black Southern freedom struggles serve as a model for liberation.
WE BELIEVE that journalism driven by people who are building power within marginalized and oppressed communities is necessary to create transformative social change.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO producing journalism that is transparent, accurate, and evidence-based.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO using journalism as a tool to support social justice organizing and to use organizing as a tool to transform the field of journalism.
THROUGH THIS WORK WE HONOR the legacy and lived experiences of the communities we are a part of and in solidarity with: Black and Indigenous people, immigrants, oppressed people in rural communities, queer and trans people, and all systematically oppressed Southerners, from the Delta to Appalachia to Puerto Rico, who tell stories to ensure our humanity, dignity, and power.
Our Guiding Principles
These principles help us start from a place of alignment, develop a shared commitment to vision and mission, reach and sustain agreement, clarify current and shifting priorities, deepen relationships across the group, and communicate effectively.
| Guiding Principles | By which we mean… |
| COURAGE | Access strength and fortitude for visioning, strategies, goal-setting, and conflict resolution |
| CREATIVITY | Lead with imagination when developing concepts, strategies, and practices |
| COLLECTIVE AGENCY / MUTUAL SUPPORT | Trust and rely upon the group’s strengths |
| PEOPLE-CENTERED | Put people and communities first when developing new strategies and practices, or assessing potential partnerships |
| FLEXIBILITY | Access individual and collective capacity to adapt |
| DIRECT COMMUNICATION | Express clearly specific ideas, thoughts, and emotions |
| NAMING OPPRESSION & POWER DYNAMICS | Engage specific tension that arises, and the ways White dominant culture, patriarchy, heteronormativity show in group dynamics |
| SELF-AWARENESS | Take responsibility for individual behavior and actions |