About NOISE

North Omaha Information Support Everyone is a community-led news organization developed to address the information gap within North Omaha. NOISE is a multimedia platform prioritizing web and social media while supporting coverage with radio, print, SMS alerts, and events to make news more accessible.

Drawing from current events, direct feedback from our neighbors, and history, we work to provide content relevant to people's everyday lives in an effort to recapture and inform the narrative of North Omaha.

We recognize that information is abundant but not always representative or as nuanced as the people at the center of the story. Our team is comprised of residents of North Omaha, young people of color, and allies that wish to serve and inform the greater community. Most of our team members do not have formal journalism experience but all demonstrate a great ability to connect, discuss, and tell stories.

Since our inception in April 2018, in response to an information ecosystem assessment conducted by the Listening Post Collective, we have engaged thousands of people from across the Omaha metro with our information sharing. Through local gatherings, we have been able to bring public officials and community members together for dynamic discussions. 

NOISE works to break the mold of news distribution through creative experimentation in our choice of mediums like SMS text alerts, full-color zines featuring local art, a comprehensive social media presence.

NOISE has three focus areas for news coverage: Civics, Community, and Culture.

Civic news is at our core because we recognize that there is no participatory democracy unless the citizenry is informed of their rights, the actions of elected officials take in propagating arrangements, and the impact of policy. Our in-depth coverage of municipal, state, and federal government works to put civics back in the hands of the people. 

Our community news considers subjects of interest that impact people on a daily basis such as health and well-being, education, housing, and transportation, most of which connect back to civic awareness. 

Local artists, festivals, and public gatherings are integral parts of North Omaha. We use our platforms to support that foundation. Arts, culture, and history are essential to the story and connectedness of a community. It is a source of pride, and we are committed to elevating these elements through our multimedia approach.

As we move forward we want to share the tools of storytelling and content creation with the younger generations so that they may be prepared to tell the difficult stories that must be told for a more just future.

Editorial Independence Policy

NOISE is an organization for the people, by the people. We aim to do community-based journalism that provides useful information and holds representatives and systems accountable to the people they serve.

We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:

Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. 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 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.

Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN's Membership Standards.