Tucson Spotlight turns 2 today, marking two years as a bilingual nonprofit newsroom covering Tucson and Southern Arizona and training the region's next generation of journalists.

Since launching in September 2024, the newsroom has grown to a team of about 30 reporters, interns and freelancers. It has provided paid training and mentorship to more than 70 early-career journalists, making it the largest journalism training hub in Southern Arizona.

"When we started, we just knew Tucson needed more local news and young reporters needed somewhere to learn," said Caitlin Schmidt, Tucson Spotlight's co-founder and publisher. "Two years later, we've got more than 70 journalists who've come through our newsroom, and they're doing work this community actually needs. I'm really proud of that."

Tucson Spotlight's reporters range from high school students to graduate students, working alongside staff editors and regular freelancers. The newsroom partners with five high schools, the University of Arizona and Pima Community College, and pays 15 to 25 students and recent graduates for their work each semester.

Alumni of its Spotlight Reporting Fellows Program have gone on to report for Arizona Public Media, WKOW27, Vanity Fair and Slate, along with freelance bylines at other outlets.

This semester's cohort includes interns covering politics, business, education, migration, health, the environment and the arts, plus two high school interns from San Miguel High School.

Two years of impact

Tucson Spotlight's reporters cover everything from local government, elections and the border to education, health, business, science, the environment and the arts. Its ongoing investigative series on University of Arizona finances has tracked millions in donor money and legal spending, and this year an intern's investigation looked at staffing at Pima Animal Care Center.

The newsroom is also part of the Solutions Journalism Network's Addressing Health Disparities Fellowship cohort, focusing on what's working and how people can get involved.

Tucson Spotlight has published hundreds of stories in Spanish through El Foco de Tucson, led by Director of Bilingual Initiatives Diana Ramos. It also hosts O'odham Media, an Indigenous-led vertical built by journalist Trinity Norris.

The newsroom reaches readers where they are. It's social media first, with a dedicated team that produces news reels for Instagram and TikTok so people can get their local news where they already scroll. For people who aren't online, it prints: Tucson Spotlight partnered with the city of South Tucson on a bilingual newsletter for residents, and O'odham Media prints a newsletter for Tohono O'odham Nation residents with limited broadband access.

In 2026, Tucson Spotlight won the LION Sustainability Award for Collaboration of the Year in the micro and small revenue tier. The award recognized its 2025 partnerships with the city of South Tucson, O'odham Media, Tucson Tome Gnome, the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona and Arizona Luminaria.

The newsroom also completed an Information Ecosystem Assessment for Pima County with the Listening Post Collective, collecting more than 560 bilingual survey responses at places including the Tucson Festival of Books and the South Tucson Health Fair, along with community listening sessions. The assessment identified five community priorities: basic needs, immigration, civic participation, community development and education.

In August, Tucson Spotlight co-hosted "In Our Words: Brave," a public storytelling event featuring members of the intellectual and developmental disabilities community, with Wordslaw, the Reynolds Journalism Institute, Arizona Public Media, Arts for All at the Tucson J and ArtWorks at the University of Arizona.

It has also co-hosted an adult summer reading club with Tucson Tome Gnome for the past two years, with participation doubling in year two. With Arizona Luminaria, it co-hosted candidate meet-and-greets, putting Southern Arizona voters face-to-face with candidates for City Council and the Legislature. One drew more than 60 people through a monsoon storm.

A month of celebrating

Tucson Spotlight is celebrating its birthday throughout October:

• Fremont Freebies: Tucson Spotlight will table at Fremont Freebies, a Family Weekend kickoff from 2:30-4:30 p.m. Oct. 2 at [location]. Students and families can stop by for music, games and free swag, and pick up Tucson Spotlight goodies. The event is free.
• Tucson in a Pocket craft event: Tucson Spotlight is teaming up with Gather and Glow Club for a community craft event from 2-4 p.m. Oct. 10 at Bookmans Speedway, 1930 E. Speedway Blvd. Participants will make a framed denim pocket filled with small things they love about Tucson. Purchase a ticket here.
• Trunk or Treat: Tucson Spotlight will have a trunk at Camp Bow Wow Tucson East's annual Trunk or Treat from 3-5 p.m. Oct. 10 in the business's parking lot, [address]. The family-friendly Halloween event includes candy, a dog costume contest with prizes and visits from the Tucson Police Department and Tucson Fire Department. Dogs are welcome. The event is free.
• Solutions-Focused Community Book Club: Tucson Spotlight, Tucson Tome Gnome and the Community Foundation for Southern Arizona will discuss "Klara and the Sun" by Kazuo Ishiguro from 5:30-7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Community Foundation Campus, 5049 E. Broadway Blvd. Bring a few books for the community book-sharing table and take home something new. Light refreshments provided. RSVP.
• Volunteer fair: Tucson Spotlight will host a volunteer fair connecting community members with local organizations that need short-term and one-time help. Many of the groups are listed in the newsroom's new civic resource hub, and the fair is a chance to meet them in person and find an afternoon or weekend opportunity that fits. Date, time and location to be announced.

How to support

Tucson Spotlight's reporting is free to read with no paywall. The newsroom is raising money to keep paying student journalists and expanding its coverage. Donations are tax-deductible through its fiscal sponsor, Tiny News Collective.

"Local news only works if people trust you, and that trust comes from showing up," Schmidt said. "Our reporters are at the meetings, in the neighborhoods and asking the hard questions. Most of them are still in school, and they're already doing work that matters."

Tucson Spotlight is a community-based newsroom that provides paid opportunities for students and rising journalists in Southern Arizona. Please consider supporting our work with a tax-deductible donation.