Welcome to The Philadelphia Citizen, the only local nonprofit, nonpartisan media outlet that combines solutions-based journalism, calls to action and civic-minded events with the goal of bolstering democracy in the American city where it was born.
We’re here for one reason: Philadelphia.
Meet The Citizen Team | Meet the Board of Directors | Sponsors & Supporters
WHAT DO WE DO?
Media that chronicles only what’s wrong without considering how to fix things is only doing half a job. The Philadelphia Citizen looks at problems through the lens of solutions, seeks fixes to what ails the city, shines a light on our city’s change agents, and demands a new way of thinking from the business-as-usual crowd.
Our daily reporting chronicles businesses doing good, citizens jumping into the fray, ideas we should steal from other cities, homegrown solutions addressing everything from poverty to education to corruption in our politics. We call our elected officials to account and we amplify community voices that speak to our times. We also send out a weekly newsletter on Fridays that compiles our latest stories.
The Citizen provides practical ways for every Philadelphian to become a more active participant in the life of our city. Our Civic Engagement team pairs every article with discrete calls to action; connects problem-solvers to those looking for ways to engage; and helps folks find their own path to becoming a truly engaged citizen. Look for ways to make our democracy stronger, do your part to help local schools and teachers, vote on ideas that can move the city forward, and come together to brainstorm solutions in real-time.
Connect with the Citizen Social Action team.
We bring our particular brand of solutions journalism to life through a regular series of events that range from one-on-one conversations with big thinkers, to panel discussions with changemakers, to our annual Ideas We Should Steal Festival®, in which we bring problem-solvers from around the country to Philly to share what they know about addressing cities’ biggest hurdles.
A few of our past speakers include: comedians John Oliver and Roy Wood, Jr.; authors Piper Kerman, Kiley Reid, Jennifer Weiner, Anand Giridharadas; Mayors Nan Whaley (Dayton), Svante Myrick (Ithaca), Paige Gephart Cognetti (Scranton), Randall Woodfin (Birmingham), Sly James (Kansas City), Kasim Reed (Atlanta); professors Eddie Glaude, Jr., Michael Eric Dyson and Eric Klinenberg; business leaders Nick Hanauer, Sarah Kunst, Josh Kopelman, David Adelman, Jerry Sweeney and Della Clark; and many, many more.
JOIN THE ARMY OF CITIZENS
BECOME A MEMBER
The Philadelphia Citizen is the region’s only member-supported, nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news organization with an emphasis on covering civic solutions and stimulating action to move the city forward. As a member, your contributions go directly to supporting this mission. You can go even further and become a Super Citizen Member, which also offers memberships to Committee of Seventy and Young Involved Philadelphia.
Corporate and foundation sponsors support The Philadelphia Citizen’s belief that promoting greater civic engagement and informed discourse is a direct route to a better and more productive Philadelphia.
If you don’t see an opportunity that fits what you’re looking for, send your resume to jobs@thephiladelphiacitizen.org. We are always interested in meeting passionate Philadelphians to find out how we can work together.
I am more than a resident of Philadelphia.
I am its citizen.
And I dedicate myself to the betterment of my home.
I will stand while others sit.
I will speak when there is silence.
I will read. I will act. I will vote.
I will challenge authority, and challenge myself.
I will grow and learn. I will seek out inspiration.
And I will become an inspiration to others.
I stand for Philadelphia.
It is my home.
And I am its citizen.
Take The Pledge by supporting The Citizen.
The Philadelphia Citizen retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support. Our organization also may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Every article in The Citizen will include a note if it mentions donors who have given a total of $5,000 or more. We will accept anonymous donations for general support if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization.
The Philadelphia Citizen believes in the power of people — our journalists, photographers and editors — to create meaningful, impactful solutions journalism with the goal of reviving democracy and citizenship in the American city where they were born.
We do not use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write articles or create images. We strive to be transparent in all the ways we are currently using, and will in future use, AI in our processes and reporting.
We may use AI to help draft headlines and social media posts; to identify related articles; transcribe interviews; translate articles (with human oversight); and copyedit articles according to The Citizen’s style guidelines. We may also use supportive AI features that exist within design and analytics applications. Anything published on The Philadelphia Citizen platforms is finalized by humans, who are ultimately responsible for any and all content.
Our use of AI is for the following purposes:
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- To save journalists’ time by taking care of “busy” work such as transcribing interviews and copyediting articles to meet The Citizen’s style guidelines.
- To streamline the process of posting to various social media platforms.
- To input identifying metadata on photographs, to make them more easily searchable.
- To streamline the process of making posts that are published on The Philadelphia Citizen’s website.
- To analyze user data, such as tracking how they find articles; what they are reading; and how long they spend on the website.
- To assist in the creative design process.