About Us
About The Daily Memphian
About | Leadership | Board of Directors | Subscribe | Free Access | Donate | Financial Support | Editorial Independence | Transparency in Health Coverage | Work With Us
About
- “One of the best local news sites in the country.” – Politico
- “Driving a shift in the digital media business.” – The New York Times
- “In Memphis, a lab experiment for local news.” – The Atlantic
- “Ghost papers and news deserts: Will America ever get its local news back?” – The Washington Post
- “The Daily Memphian’s model demands attention.” – NiemanLab at Harvard
- “Digital startups with strong financial backing are hitting key targets” – The Poynter Institute
- “Reviving Local Media: The innovations helping publishers thrive in the age of digital” – Forbes
- “Startups are pushing back against the rise of ‘news deserts’ and the pitfalls facing local journalism” – CNN: Reliable Sources Podcast
Launched in September 2018, The Daily Memphian is the must-read, primary daily online publication for intelligent, in-depth journalism in the Memphis community. The Daily Memphian reports on critical news, holds political, business and community leaders accountable, and engages with and entertains its readers – all while seeking truth, acting with integrity, and never fearing stories simply because of their negative or positive attributes. Led by a seasoned team of veteran journalists, The Daily Memphian is of Memphis, not just in Memphis, and seeks to tell the stories of this city.
Leadership
Eric Barnes, CEO & acting Executive Editor. Eric is the longtime publisher of The Daily News and host of Behind the Headlines on WKNO. He’s a former President of the Tennessee Press Association, was once COO of Towery Publishing in Memphis, and has worked as a reporter, editor and in other positions at media companies in New York and Connecticut.
Jason Israel, Chief Technology Officer. Jason is a native Memphian who has led several Memphis based SAAS companies as a start-up CTO and software engineer for over 20 years, including Verified Person Inc., Extracon Science LLC, Rapsheets.com and The Daily News.
Mary Cashiola, Editorial Director. Mary Cashiola oversees editorial direction, management and strategy of the newsroom. A veteran journalist, she has reported on education, business, local government and the environment for the Memphis Business Journal, The Memphis Flyer and other publications. She’s also worked for the City of Memphis and as an ad agency copywriter.
James Overstreet, Managing Editor. James was formerly the Executive Editor of The Daily News, as well as Business Editor at The Commercial Appeal, Managing Editor of The Memphis Business Journal, and a reporter at numerous publications in the Southeast.
Holly Whitfield, Digital Director. Holly has more than 13 years of experience in publishing and digital content, including 10 years at the helm of the I Love Memphis Blog. A contributor for numerous online and print publications, she began her career at The Commercial Appeal.
Kathy Kendrick, Business Manager. Kathy was for two decades the Business Manager of The Memphis Business Journal.
Carrie O’Guin, Advertising Director. Carrie has managed advertising and sponsorship efforts at The Daily Memphian and Contemporary Media.
Advisory
Otis Sanford, Columnist & Editor-at-Large. Otis holds the Chair of Excellence in the Department of Journalism & Strategic Media at The University of Memphis. Otis is the former Managing Editor at The Commercial Appeal, Deputy City Editor at Detroit Free Press and Assistant City Editor at The Pittsburgh Press. He worked as a reporter at The Clarion-Ledger and The Commercial Appeal.
Board of Directors
Andy Cates, President & Chairman
Managing Member, ValFund
Robert J. Davis, Vice President
President and Editor-in-Chief, Everwell
James Maclin, Secretary
Principal/Consultant, M&M Enterprises
Roshun Austin, Treasurer
President/CEO, The Works, Inc.
Nancy Coffee, Director
SVP, The Chairman's Circle, Greater Memphis Chamber
Mary Tabor Engel, Director
Former reporter for The New York Times
Edward Felsenthal, Director
Editor, TIME
Deanie Parker, Director
Former President/CEO, Soulsville, Inc.
Kevin McEniry, Director
CEO, nexAir
Subscribe
Every month, you get three free articles per device. After that, you must subscribe to read an unlimited number of articles. To subscribe, click here.
You can subscribe to our email editions at no charge. Look for the Email Sign Up window on the right side (and at the bottom) of every page.
Free Access
We offer free access to all pre-k through 12th-grade schools in Shelby County. Email community@dailymemphian.com, for more information about access at schools and other community locations.
Financial Support
In the last two years, The Daily Memphian has received funding from the following foundations and organizations:
- The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis - www.cfgm.org
- The Assisi Foundation - www.assisifoundation.org (Donation was partly in support of our free access programs and coverage of underserved areas of Memphis. Learn more here.)
- The First Horizon Foundation (formerly the First Tennessee Foundation) - www.firsthorizonfoundation.com
- The Hyde Family Foundation - www.hydefoundation.org (Donation was partly in support of our free access programs and coverage of underserved areas of Memphis.)
- The Lenfest Institute - www.lenfestinstitute.org (Donation came from The Daily Memphian’s participation in the Facebook Journalism Project’s Accelerator program. Learn more here.)
- The Briggs Foundation – thomaswbriggsfoundation.org
- Google News Initiative - newsinitiative.withgoogle.com
Also in the last two years, The Daily Memphian has received contributions of $1,000 or more from the following individuals:
Allison P. and Andrew F. Cates
Ameriprise
Amy and Bill Rhodes Fund
Andrew Inglis Fund
Autozone
Betsy and Jason Hood Family
Binka Bone
Brenda Carter
Bruce C. Taylor
Carol Iovino
Charles Brashear
Christopher McLemore
Christopher W. and Helen N. Bird Charitable Fund
Chuck Smith, Jr. Family
Cindy and Kevin Brewer Fund
Crawford Howard Foundation
Daniel Randolph Ramey
Diane Rudner
Diane and Tom Long
Donald and Cecilia Clanton
Dot H. Neale
Douglas and Dr. Kristen B. Duncan
Due Unto Others Foundation Fund
Duncan Williams
Engel Family Fund
Eric Barnes
Eric Bolton
Erin Ostrow
Forest Alton
Frank B. and Linda C. Smith Charitable Fund
Friends of Raymond James
Gary and Libby Wunderlich
George and Bena Cates
George Johnson
Gilliland Family Fund, Inc.
Hal Fogelman
Harry and Sarah Freeman Fund
Houston J. Gordon
Hugh Fraser Family
James Isaacs
James Keegan
James Marshall
Jan Young
Jason P. and Betsy Hood
Jeanne and Frank Jemison
Jewish Foundation of Memphis
John Good
Karl Schledwitz
Kevin and Melissa McEniry Fund
Kevin Kern
LEO Events Charitable Fund
Liz J. Gilliland Advised Fund
Lucy Carrington Jones Fund
Margaret and Alec McLean
Margaret and Craig Cardwell
Mark Thompson
Mary Engel Family
Mary Lee Copp Advised Fund
Mary Minor
McLean Family Fund
Michael D. Uiberall
Mickey Robinson
Mike Cody Family
Mike Warr
Monogram Foods Loves Kids Foundation
Nancy Coffee
Owen Tabor, Jr. Family
Paul Morris
Priscillia and Paulo Teixeira
Randall Hutchinson
Rich and Joana Clayton
Rich Clayton
Robert G. and Jane V. Engel Foundation, Inc.
Rodney Baber
Rosepoint Foundation
Roy and Carolyn Shirkey
Shannon Briggs
Suzanne A. Gronemeyer
Tabor Family Fund
Thomas David Goodwin Jr.
Thomas L. and Melissa C. Grimes
Tim and Carol Calkins
Tim and Julia Finnell Foundation
Tracy and Lee Crump
Trevor Benitone
Wendy Oliver
Willey Endowment Fund
William and Paige Proctor
William E. Orgel
William Townsend
All funding was donated to Memphis Fourth Estate, Inc., the 501(c)3 that owns and operates The Daily Memphian.
Other financial support for The Daily Memphian comes from paid subscriptions as well as sponsorships and advertising as visible on the site, at events and in our podcasts and other media.
No donation to The Daily Memphian will compromise or interfere with our editorial independence, as defined here. All funding to The Daily Memphian is controlled by the board of directors and management.
You can find a copy of our most recent IRS 990 filing by clicking on the PDF.
Editorial Independence
Memphis Fourth Estate, Inc., which is governed by an independent board of directors, owns and oversees The Daily Memphian.
The board is not in place to pick stories, direct the newsroom, or manage the journalists, although the board can and will share feedback and ideas about editorial strategy and overall direction to The Daily Memphian’s CEO and Executive Editor.
All board members have pledged that they will not use their role on the board to promote coverage that might personally benefit any board member. At the sole editorial discretion of the newsroom, board members may appear in articles or other content produced by The Daily Memphian, but their role as a board member will be disclosed in the article or content.
In the event that the CEO, Executive Editor, or any member of the newsroom perceive that they are experiencing inappropriate pressure from the board as a whole or a board member individually, The Daily Memphian’s Editorial Ombudsman serves as an independent arbiter of any conflict with – or inappropriate pressure from – the board or any board member(s).
Being a donor, funder, advertiser, sponsor or paid subscriber to The Daily Memphian does not in any way empower or entitle that individual or organization to dictate or control what articles or content are produced by The Daily Memphian, or to have oversight, approval or direction of articles or other content.
Where funding has been given to enhance or support certain types or categories of coverage, the nature of that funding has been disclosed.
While advertisers and sponsors may choose to sponsor or advertise within specific types of content, that does not give the advertiser or sponsor the right to control or dictate the substance, tone, or direction of that content.
The Daily Memphian welcomes input, feedback and criticism from all readers, podcast listeners, video viewers, and event attendees.
Transparency in Health Coverage
This link leads to the machine readable files that are made available in response to the federal Transparency in Coverage Rule and includes negotiated service rates and out-of-network allowed amounts between health plans and healthcare providers. The machine-readable files are formatted to allow researchers, regulators, and application developers to more easily access and analyze data. Access the machine-readable files created and published by BCBS TN, here.