Now that's impact: How Democrat and Chronicle journalists helped make a difference in 2023

Michael Kilian, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
·5 min read
A newly planted tree on Hollister Street in northeast Rochester.
A newly planted tree on Hollister Street in northeast Rochester.

Dear D&C readers –

We’re here to share with you today the impact of the Democrat and Chronicle’s journalism on local lives. From promoting healthier outcomes on city streets to placing a spotlight on missing BIPOC kids to spurring a church group to support a food drive, D&C reporters and photographers make a difference all year long.

Nearly any journalist got into this profession because they believed solid news reporting and compelling photojournalism and videography could make a difference for the better – in our communities, in our state and nation or in the world.Yes, that is a bit of a conceit, but it is a healthy one. Every era has its severe challenges, whether they be war or recession or natural disaster or violence or injustice, yet every era sees news reporting that at its best has opened eyes and transformed society for the better.About 120 years ago, muckraking journalist Ida Tarbell wrote story after story in McClure's Magazine exposing abuses by the giant Standard Oil Co. and corporate trust in its business practices, leading to a key 1911 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that broke up Standard Oil.

The service for Jakarah. Lopez-Moore, 16, was by all reports a normal teenager who liked to listen to music, watch TV, spend time on her phone. The teen was also learning how to cook.
The service for Jakarah. Lopez-Moore, 16, was by all reports a normal teenager who liked to listen to music, watch TV, spend time on her phone. The teen was also learning how to cook.

Around that same time, other journalists wrote about child labor abuses and the lack of health standards at food companies, including meat-packing plants. Many reforms ensued.Of course, 50 years ago, two Washington Post reporters’ doggedness led to revelations of misconduct in the Nixon administration that led to Richard M. Nixon’s resignation.And much closer to home, the 2023 death of the wrongfully convicted Betty Tyson of Rochester brought back into focus the careful and persistent reporting of the Democrat and Chronicle’s own Gary Craig, whose work a quarter-century ago helped lead to Tyson’s release from prison.

In an era when the local news business faces many challenges, the Democrat and Chronicle began an annual tradition a year ago of sharing the impact of the previous year’s work with our readers.During 2023, the D&C team delivered much impactful work:

Tree planting

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., talks about how the tree he and other Rochester dignitaries are planting will grow over the upcoming years. He was participating in a press conference and tree planting on Holland Street in the Upper Falls Neighborhood on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Rochester.
Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., talks about how the tree he and other Rochester dignitaries are planting will grow over the upcoming years. He was participating in a press conference and tree planting on Holland Street in the Upper Falls Neighborhood on Monday, May 8, 2023, in Rochester.

Reporter Justin Murphy examined city tree-planting patterns during 2022, highlighting the disparities that lead to health impacts in poor and diverse neighborhoods lacking adequate shade. Over the next year-and-a-half, results emerged.

Mayor Malik Evans announced a plan to plant 6,000 trees.

Murphy last year received this email from The Landmark Society: “Inspired by your reporting, The Landmark Society has selected Urban Tree Canopy to be one of the 2022-23 Five to Revive.” The Landmark Society listing historically has placed a focus on “targeted, strategic revitalization” in Greater Rochester.

Then, in May 2023, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer visited to announce Rochester will be "first in line" for federal urban forestry funding to support tree planting. By late summer, that had translated to a federal commitment of $3 million.

The federal grant program "was envisioned to benefit communities exactly like Rochester where trees plantings can bring generational change across a tree's many-decades life to help reverse economic and environmental injustice,” Schumer wrote.

Now that’s impact.

Missing children

Domonique Tyshawn Holley-Grisham
Domonique Tyshawn Holley-Grisham

Madison Scott, a college intern first for USA TODAY and more recently for the D&C, has made it her mission to place a spotlight on missing children’s cases. A student at SUNY Brockport who recently graduated, Scott’s work has given voice to the families of teens who have gone missing and has highlighted disparities in how police handle cases involving children of different races.

Among her stories this year was one examining how Rochester police handled the case of still-missing Domonique Tyshawn Holley-Grisham, and another highlighting the life and tragic death of Jakarah Lopez-Moore, who was 16.

Thanks to Scott's ongoing coverage and to that of colleagues including Kayla Canne, Rochester lawmakers and advocates called for the state to take action. Late in December, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed legislation to establish a task force on missing girls and women who are Black, Indigenous or people of color in New York.

Now that’s impact.

Free food stands

Chiara Smith was the founder of the free food stands that went up in 2020 in the 14621 neighborhood in Rochester. She said she grew up in the neighborhood of this food stand at Remington and Kohlman streets.
Chiara Smith was the founder of the free food stands that went up in 2020 in the 14621 neighborhood in Rochester. She said she grew up in the neighborhood of this food stand at Remington and Kohlman streets.

A year ago, reporter Kayla Canne wrote about free food stands in Rochester. Her reporting inspired parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Brighton to sponsor a Lenten Food Drive to provide donations to the free food stands in the 14621 ZIP code “as a direct result of your article,” wrote Richard Sullivan, coordinator of the Food Drive.

Wrote Sullivan: “We thought you should know this if only to show that despite all of the criticisms showered on the media, you folks do ‘good work’ in highlighting community needs -- and that your work can be and is, effective.”

Now that’s impact.

You’ll see plenty more examples in our impact report today. All credit goes to our front-line journalists, whose vision and persistence and dedication lead them to dig so deeply in their reporting and videography. In local journalism, when our reporters pursue matters of public interest and public impact, that is where public service emerges. A simple formula, yet one proven to be true at the D&C year after year after year.

You, our loyal readers and subscribers, make such impactful reporting possible. Your support reflects your own care and concern for Greater Rochester’s fortunes, whether you live in the city, in surrounding villages and towns or in outlying counties.

You believe on some level, as do we, that a serious news organization can be a catalyst for positive change. Our work might help readers rally around neighbors in need, or contemplate how they might vote or see more clearly how historic housing segregation in Monroe County continues to fuel inequality.

Thank you for your faith in us.

Sincerely,

The D&C Team

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Impact reporting by D&C led to tree plantings, missing kids task force