Speakers included Samantha Sommer, the newspaper’s investigations and community engagement editor, and reporters Sarah Franks and Josh Sweigart. They talked about how the Dayton Daily News engages with the community in its reporting.
Examples include the Path Forward project, which aims to find solutions to pressing regional challenges such as racial inequity, threats to water quality, and adapting to a changing economy. They spoke about how accountability reporting by the newspaper has shaped local and statewide law and policy in recent years, and how the Dayton.com brand highlights what to love about Dayton.
Emily Broughton, Dayton Daily News marketing manager, spoke about how the newspaper’s affiliated James M. Cox Foundation has donated millions of dollars to local non-profits in recent years. She noted how the newspaper helps raise money for things like the food bank and is currently donating $1 of every new subscription to Five Rivers MetroParks to plant pollinator prairies as part of its Bee the Change campaign.
“The future of the Dayton Daily News, now more than ever, depends on our ability to connect and serve this community,” said Publisher Jana Collier about the event. “To do that, we need to increase our community connections and collaborations.”
Sarah Alice Keiser, manager of leadership programming for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, said the event aligns with the Generation Dayton group she runs.
“Ultimately the goal of Generation Dayton is to make our young professionals good stewards in the community,” she said.
Generation Dayton, or Gen D, offers education, networking and community service opportunities to Dayton-area young professionals. The next Gen D speaker series event will be May 18 and will include a tour of the Foodbank.
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