Soapbox Cincinnati and NKY thrives reported on five city neighborhoods including Walnut Hills, Covington, West End, Camp Washington, and Westwood continuously in the “On The Ground” series.
For each series, Soapbox gathered community residents, stakeholders, community councils and development organization partners to determine what stories the neighborhoods would like to tell. The community-shaped editorial calendar resulted in many of our favorite feature stories reported on between 2016 and 2020. There is genuine interest in urban communities that are often underreported and underrepresented in local media, especially during 2020, which was a year dominated by the national election, a pandemic and misinformation.
Soapbox hosted a weekly Community Open Newsroom in conjunction with the Walnut Hills series in the winter of 2020 headquartered at Caffè Vivace. Twenty-two neighborhood champions joined our live broadcasts hosted by Kathryne Gardette. Our Community Open Newsroom closed at the start of the nationwide COVID shutdown.
In the 1980s and 90s, the community's population shrank drastically, leading to urban blight and crime. But in the early 2000s, a wave of new, young urbanism brought a heightened interest in traditional, dense neighborhoods nearer to the urban core. With this heightened interest came a new willingness to invest capital in urban revitalization.
Soapbox caps off its 12-story embedded journalism project, On the Ground: Covington, with a community engagement event and screening of a new original short film called "Covington On the Rise."
Soapbox closes out its 12-week embedded On the Ground series with a look at the victories, remaining challenges and hopes of some of Covington's most passionate advocates.
On Oct. 21, Soapbox On the Ground invites community members to Covington’s Hellmann Creative Center, where we’ll enjoy local coffee and pastries, community conversation and a screening of an original short film, “Covington On the Rise.”
In this final regular installment of On the Ground: Covington, Soapbox continues exploring the intersection of poverty and education, shining a light on initiatives like the Lincoln Grant Scholar House and the Life Learning Center that support education and skills training for adult learners.
On July 27, Soapbox readers and Covington leaders gathered at the NKY Innovation Network for a light-hearted debate about what it takes to make it in Covington's fast-evolving entrepreneurial climate.
Poverty is a multi-faceted and widespread challenge to learning in Covington's public schools. But far from lamenting, leaders are tackling the problem head-on, with strategic programming and a passion for student success.
The past four decades have brought many changes to Covington's economic landscape. Fiercely committed residents like Rev. William H. Mertes and former mayor Chuck Scheper have been there providing support and community organization through it all.
On July 27, entrepreneurial-focused residents and leaders will gather at the NKY Innovation Network headquarters for a gameshow-style conversation about what it takes for businesses to survive in Covington's growing ecosystem. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required.
Whether it’s Covington’s brewery heritage or the quaint appeal of Mainstrasse Village, the city has long been synonymous with pub culture. Now, as Covington grows by leaps and bounds, its bar scene is keeping pace with business, food, retail and other attractants.
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