MACON, Ga. — The Macon Melody is hot off the press.
The newspaper is now in production thanks to the National and Georgia Trusts for Local News and The Knight Foundation, and as of this Friday, the people of Macon can grab their own copy.
The newly established non-profit earned a $5 million grant earlier this year and officially began production of another newspaper in Macon earlier this week.
"We are starting a newspaper in 2024, which is not something that is happening all over the place," managing editor Caleb Slinkard said. "Macon is in a really unique position to have multiple organizations that recognize this as a community that's moving forward. This is a community where things are happening. This is a community that is making news."
The Melody will have stories written throughout the week on its website and plans to print and circulate papers every Friday. Written and printed locally, he hopes The Melody's impact goes beyond the headlines.
"We are a local newspaper organization. We are a non-profit newspaper organization, which means the money that we make, we are able to invest right back into this community," Slinkard said.
The Melody's growing team of journalists will create their stories in a newsroom right on Mercer's campus.
"It's just another opportunity for our students to walk into a newsroom from a classroom," said Debbie Blankenship with The CCJ.
Blankenship says, as a partner, The Melody will not only invest in students, but the future of journalism in Macon.
"We all have a different audience that we are trying to reach, but in collaborating and sharing resources, it just means more information for the larger community," she said.
Those partnerships, along with Macon's music heritage, became the muse behind The Melody's name.
"In order to make a melody, you have to have a lot of different parts coming together in harmony to make something happen, and I think that represents what we are doing here," Slinkard said.