DALLAS / FORT WORTH / DENTON – KERA and The Dallas Morning News are pleased to formally launch ‘Arts Access’ — a first-of-its-kind journalism partnership that is expanding arts, music and culture coverage in North Texas, through the lens of equity and access.

Under this innovative partnership, KERA and The Dallas Morning News will create and share arts reporting across multiple platforms, including print, digital, radio, podcasts and video — all of which will be free and available to audiences. Reporting from the partnership will have a sharpened focus on diverse arts communities and organizations and invite new and diverse audiences to engage with arts and culture events. Additionally, the two organizations will produce and host several community events throughout the year. 

“North Texas is special for many reasons, but chief among them is our arts and culture communities,” says Anne Bothwell, KERA’s Vice President of Arts. “To preserve and expand what makes our region so unique, it’s critical we amplify the stories of our local artists and arts institutions. KERA and The Dallas Morning News are united in this commitment, and we couldn’t be more honored to enter into this partnership with them.”

“Arts Access will spark innovation in storytelling between KERA and The Dallas Morning News,” said Grant Moise, CEO and Publisher, DallasNews Corporation. “North Texas has a thriving arts community that must be accessible to everyone. This first-of-its-kind partnership will enable more in-depth projects and content sharing among news leaders both locally and nationally.”

Arts Access is the latest initiative in KERA’s commitment to collaborative partnerships. In addition to being a founding member and leading station of The Texas Newsroom, a statewide reporting hub, KERA recently launched a collaboration with the nonprofit digital publication Fort Worth Report, to increase news coverage for and by Tarrant County. KERA also recently announced that it is moving towards an acquisition of The Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton County’s primary local newspaper. 

“At KERA, we’re really proud to embrace collaboration as the future of local journalism,” says Nico Leone, President & CEO of KERA. “We recognize that when we work with our media peers, we can share local knowledge, resources and platforms. And that means deeper and more accessible reporting for the people of North Texas. The Dallas Morning News shares this commitment with us, and we’re so excited to officially launch our collaboration together.”

For The Dallas Morning News, Arts Access is an extension of its community-funded journalism initiative, which boosts public service journalism through partnerships and philanthropic funding. The initiative’s cornerstone is the highly acclaimed Education Lab, which has produced high-impact journalism on pandemic learning loss and other urgent topics.

The Arts Access team is hiring a coordinating editor and two arts reporters. Already, Arts Access has produced dozens of stories, largely focused on how the pandemic has impacted cultural life in North Texas. The team has also hosted a panel discussion in September at Dallas Museum of Art.  “Arts Access: Making the Scene” featured local arts thought-leaders and explored how their respective works and organizations have enriched North Texas communities with accessible experiences. 

Arts Access reporting can be found at keranews.org/artsaccess and dallasnews.com/artsaccess.