Network Reaches 40 Publisher Partners—with Addition of Three Trusted Outlets
from Los Angeles to Harlem to Appalachia—Following $5 Million Knight Foundation Grant
NEW YORK, NY – Today, URL Media celebrates its fifth anniversary with continued momentum in expanding its network of trusted community publishers and strengthening the infrastructure that supports them. Since announcing a $5 million Knight Foundation investment in December 2025, URL Media has added three new publisher partners—bringing the total network to 40 organizations—and hired five key team members focused on partner success, advertising operations, and capacity building as the organization scales toward its goal of 100 publisher partners and 250 creator-journalists by 2028.
Founded on January 21, 2021—days after President Biden’s inauguration—by media entrepreneurs Sara Lomax and S. Mitra Kalita, URL Media was created with a clear declaration: “We don’t want the next four years to be like the last 400.” Throughout their distinguished careers in media, both founders witnessed how mainstream media systematically underserved Black and Brown communities. They envisioned something fundamentally different: scalable, sustainable infrastructure built on partner-first economics that directs revenue and resources to trusted community outlets.
What began with eight independent publisher partners in 2021 has grown into a network of 40 trusted outlets reaching more than 27 million people. These outlets represent decades of earned credibility in communities where trust matters most—Black, Brown, immigrant, underestimated audiences often neglected and targeted by misinformation. At this critical moment when trusted journalism faces unprecedented attacks and digital media business models are collapsing, access to authentic, community-rooted information sources has never been more valuable. Anti-DEI and anti-Black, Brown, and immigrant sentiments from the highest levels of government are devastating outlets serving these communities. URL Media’s partner-first approach delivers access at a national scale while ensuring the trusted voices communities depend on can sustain themselves and build long-term economic strength.
“Five years ago, we set out to better support and resource news and information centering communities of color,” said Sara Lomax, president and co-founder of URL Media, and owner, president, and CEO of WURD Radio in Philadelphia. “We’re not just connecting trusted local outlets to national advertisers—we’re developing the technology platforms, revenue pathways, and operational support that enable these organizations to compete and build long-term economic strength. Every new partner and every team member we add brings us closer to sustainable, generational wealth-building for community media.”
Over five years, URL Media has built a comprehensive ecosystem that operates across four integrated business lines—each designed to address different sustainability challenges facing community media. The recruitment and workforce development division has completed more than 90 searches and placed 56 candidates in mission-aligned roles—with 44% at the senior and executive level—during a period when anti-DEI sentiments and industry contraction are shrinking opportunities for diverse media professionals. Alongside recruitment services, URL Media aggregates advertising opportunities that direct revenue to partners, produces editorial content that elevates their voices, and provides capacity-building support that strengthens their operations. This foundation now positions the organization to scale dramatically with Knight Foundation support.
Network Growth Advances Toward 2028 Goals
In the month since announcing the Knight Foundation investment, URL Media has welcomed three new publisher partners to the network: LA Public Press (Los Angeles, CA), an independent nonprofit newsroom advocating for a better Los Angeles; New York Amsterdam News (Harlem, NY), New York City’s oldest Black newspaper offering the “New Black View” within local, national, and international news; and Black By God (Princeton, WV), a community-led news organization providing nuanced coverage of the Black experience in West Virginia and Appalachia.
These additions exemplify URL Media’s strategic approach to network growth. LA Public Press strengthens the network’s presence in the nation’s second-largest city, where independent nonprofit journalism serves diverse communities often overlooked by mainstream outlets. New York Amsterdam News brings 115 years of institutional credibility and multigenerational trust, representing the legacy Black press that has anchored communities through every major social and political movement. Black By God addresses a critical gap in coverage of Black communities in Appalachia and rural America—regions where trusted local journalism is increasingly scarce and where Black voices have historically been excluded from regional narratives.
This growth represents meaningful progress toward URL Media’s goal of expanding from 40 to 100 publisher partners plus 250 vetted creator-journalists by 2028, increasing the network’s collective reach from 27 million to 50 million people. This scale creates leverage for partners—a single hyperlocal outlet cannot command attention from national brands, but collectively the network becomes impossible to ignore, translating directly into revenue opportunities and sustainable infrastructure.
“Scale matters because it creates power for our partners,” said S. Mitra Kalita, CEO and co-founder of URL Media, CEO and publisher of Epicenter NYC, former SVP at CNN Digital, and veteran of Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. “When we aggregate 100 trusted publishers and 250 creator-journalists reaching 50 million people, that collective power translates into revenue opportunities, access to decision-makers, and sustainable infrastructure our partners could never afford independently.”
Strategic Team Expansion Strengthens Partner Support Infrastructure
URL Media’s team expansion directly supports the partner and creator-journalist network’s growth and success. The organization has added five strategic positions across partner relations, advertising operations, editorial production, and capacity-building services.
Partner Relations & Network Growth:
- Garry Pierre-Pierre joins as Director of Partnerships. Pierre-Pierre is the founder of The Haitian Times, one of URL Media’s inaugural network partners. With more than 35 years of journalism experience, including eight years at The New York Times (where he was part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing), Pierre-Pierre brings a deep understanding of both community media operations and partner needs. He will oversee recruitment, onboarding, retention, and long-term success of partners across the URL Media network. He is based between New York and Indianapolis.
Advertising Operations & Revenue Growth:
- Alexis Rogers joins as Director of Client Services, bringing over four years of experience in aerospace strategic partnerships and five years in multicultural media sales across television, digital, and radio. Rogers will lead end-to-end client services operations, including RFPs, campaign strategy, contracts, and reporting, ensuring partners receive transparent tracking and timely revenue distribution. She is based in Houston.
- Jonathan Bates joins as Sales Account Executive with an extensive background in multi-platform media sales. Having worked with CBS, BET Networks, Hot 97 FM, and WBLS 107.5 FM, Bates has helped secure over $75 million in annual advertising sales revenues and will prospect and secure advertising and sponsorship deals for URL Media partners. He is based in New York.
Editorial Production & Audience Development:
- Amethyst Holmes, a contract Product Manager of Digital Content, is a media professional specializing in news products with experience in content strategy, marketing, and reporting. Working at the intersection of news, technology, business, and community, Holmes will oversee website and content curation along with newsletter production. She is based in Washington, D.C.
URL Collective Capacity-Building Team:
- Kirstin Garriss joins URL Collective —the nonprofit organization that provides capacity-building services and non-financial infrastructure support to partners— as PR & Communications Director. Garriss is an award-winning political journalist turned public relations strategist with more than 14 years of newsroom experience covering city halls, state houses, and Capitol Hill. She has won regional and national awards for coverage of race relations and redlining, with work appearing in The Guardian and other national outlets. Garriss will provide direct support to partners, amplifying their stories through strategic placement in local, regional, and national media outlets while helping them build sustainable PR and communications functions. She is based in Washington, D.C.
“These hires aren’t about URL Media growing for growth’s sake—they’re about delivering what our partners need to succeed,” said Lomax. “When we hire a Director of Partnerships, that’s someone ensuring new outlets joining the network receive comprehensive onboarding and ongoing support. When we hire sales executives, that’s additional capacity to secure campaigns that generate revenue for partners. Every position exists to serve the network.”
Dual Model, One Mission
URL Media’s partner-first approach operates through two complementary organizations delivering comprehensive support: URL Media aggregates advertising opportunities, distributes revenue to partners, and connects diverse media talent with mission-aligned employers through recruitment services, while URL Collective provides capacity-building services and non-financial infrastructure support. Together, they deliver financial resources, shared technology platforms, operational support, and strategic access that enable partners to build sustainable, mission-driven businesses.
With the Knight Foundation investment fueling expansion, URL Media is positioned to scale significantly over the next three years: growing from 40 to 100 publisher partners plus 250 creator-journalists, expanding reach from 25 million to 50 million people across all 50 states, distributing $5 million+ cumulatively to partners, and establishing $10 million+ in annual earned revenue ensuring financial sustainability beyond grant funding.
“This anniversary isn’t just about celebrating what we’ve built—it’s about recommitting to the work ahead,” said Kalita. “We’re building an alternative model that proves community media can thrive when they have support, resources, and collective power to compete. The next three years will demonstrate what’s possible when we invest in the communities that need it most.”
About URL Media
URL Media is transforming the media landscape by building a scalable, sustainable ecosystem that empowers trusted publishers and creators serving Black and Brown communities. URL Media operates through four integrated business lines: advertising aggregation that connects partners to national brands at scale; editorial production that elevates trusted partner voices; partner services and capacity building through the nonprofit URL Collective; and recruitment and talent development services that connect diverse media professionals with mission-aligned employers and build partner capacity through training and HR services.
Founded in 2021 by media trailblazers Sara Lomax and S. Mitra Kalita, URL Media delivers authentic reach and lasting impact for brands, institutions, and audiences ready to engage meaningfully with these communities. For more information, visit url-media.com.
Media Contact:
Kirstin Garriss
kirstin@url-media.com
