Verite News celebrated its second anniversary last Thursday (Sept. 26) with a party that brought together a diverse set of people from around greater New Orleans at restaurant Chapter IV.
Politicians, leaders of community organizations, educators, university students and more came out to recognize the work of Verite News to amplify the stories of disenfranchised residents of the region.
David Francis, Verite’s executive director, and Terry Baquet, Verite’s editor-in-chief, welcomed the crowd and thanked them for attending. Then, Drew Costley, an assistant managing editor at Verite, and Rich Webster, one of the publication’s senior reporters, highlighted some of Verite’s impactful work from the past year.
PHOTOS: Verite News celebrates two years of truth
The work they highlighted are emblematic of Verite’s mission. Costley spoke about their reporting on City Park Conservancy’s proposal to build a road through Grow Dat Youth Farm and decision not to renew the farm’s lease and the community organizing that led the park to reverse its decision.
And Webster talked about the stories he’s written about inequities in Louisiana’s criminal justice system for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network, such as his story on the state’s new 25-foot buffer law and medical care in the state’s prisons.