About The Keystone | The Keystone

About Courier Newsroom

The Keystone is owned and operated by Courier Newsroom, a civic media company with eight state-based newsrooms. Our mission is to protect and strengthen our democracy through credible, fact-based journalism that seeks to create a more informed, engaged, and representative America.

We reach audiences who are not regularly engaging with civic information, and who are unlikely to subscribe to paywalled journalism. As part of that effort, we deliver much of our reporting on the social platforms our readers use most frequently.

Courier’s newsrooms practice independent, point-of-view journalism. You can read about The Keystone’s values in the statement below. The managing editor of each site, in addition to Courier Newsroom’s VP of Content, has sole discretion and control over the editorial process.

Courier Newsroom is a public benefit corporation owned by Good Information Inc., and is supported by reader contributions, sponsors, philanthropic donations, and corporate underwriting. We maintain an editorial firewall between our newsrooms and underwriters, sponsors, and donors. We do not accept funding from any national or state political party, party committee, candidate, or campaign.

See Courier’s website for additional information about our national team and our funding model.

Contributions or gifts in support of The Keystone’s journalism are not tax deductible as charitable contributions.
The Keystone is part of the Courier Newsroom network. All payments will be made to Courier Newsroom.

The Keystone: Here’s Where We’re Coming From

The Keystone is a Pennsylvania news outlet by and for Pennsylvania.

We base our reporting on the belief that everyone deserves to be treated fairly, and ensuring people have access to the facts is a vital piece of making that happen. We’re committed to covering the state and national issues that matter to them most.

While the cost of living has skyrocketed over the last 13 years, for example, Pennsylvania minimum wage workers—the majority of whom are women—have continued to earn the same hourly rate. These workers have had to figure out how to stretch their paychecks to keep their lights on, food on their tables, and gas in their cars. They have sometimes had to make difficult decisions about whether to buy groceries or life-sustaining medications like insulin.

We also believe it’s important to hold people in power accountable when their actions harm the best interests of the communities we care most about. When the Republican-controlled state Legislature tries to pass laws that hurt Pennsylvanians and their families—including limiting access to health care, birth control, and abortion care—we share how those restrictions impact Pennsylvania.

We live in Pennsylvania—many of us for most of our lives—and these issues affect us, and our family, friends, and neighbors. We know how important they are.

The editorial foundation of The Keystone is that we are citizens of a democracy that requires a functioning government to address our shared struggles. Many of our stories aim to show what good (and bad) leadership looks like. We also believe it’s important to give our audience the information they need to choose the leaders who best represent them.

In a time when it’s increasingly harder to tell the difference between facts and fake news, our goal is to always share the truth—and show you how we got it. (After all, being direct and honest are core Pennsylvania values.) We believe our society is stronger when more people have access to credible reporting about the policies and actions that will impact their day-to-day lives. We aim to meet people where they are, rather than sit back and wait for them to come to us. That’s why our work is always free, and we publish much of it directly on social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

Pennsylvania is a great place to live. Nobody knows this better than the 13 million residents who call it home—including our small but mighty team. We speak the language, we eat the food, and we understand what makes the commonwealth—and all its many regions—special. Because we are so proud to call Pennsylvania home, we are committed to telling stories that will have an impact on Pennsylvanians and their families.