Dallas South News

Pleasant Grover Community Prosecutor's Open House

While driving home from school a few months ago, I caught an interesting interview on NPR. The interview was with Shawn Williams, the Editor of Dallas South News, which is a local, non-profit organization. They cover only the news that occurs in south Dallas neighborhoods, or that affects those neighborhoods. The reason for this, as Shawn discussed in the interview, is that these are underserved communities. The local news stations have a tendency to focus on the north side of the city, the more affluent, and advertising friendly areas.

As soon as I got home I checked out dallassouthnews.org and looked over their site to see what the coverage was like. I was happy to see that their stories were about events that were important to the community and not ratings driven, like the stories we are bombarded with on the nightly news. As a fan of NPR, I have a great appreciation for this. Much more meaningful content can be covered when you are not trying to hook the viewer into watching as a means to drive up revenue.

Dalph Johnson, a local Milliner

I decided to write Shawn and tell him that I enjoyed his interview, and more importantly I enjoyed what he was doing and supported him and his venture. I told him that although I didn’t have any money to contribute, I did have a skill that might be useful. After meeting with each other and talking about the possibilities, I started doing some work as a photographer for DSN.

I have been on three assignments so far, and it has already provided me with new and gratifying experiences. Before this, I had never been to a local government meeting, or met with a community prosecutor. Volunteering for Dallas South News has opened up a whole new world for me. It has also tested my skills as a photographer. Shooting on the fly in different environments with minimal gear can really test you and requires you to think quickly on your feet. But I have enjoyed it so far and I look forward to what’s next.

Dallas Budget Town Hall Meeting

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