Amplify Utah is working to reshape journalism by bolstering diverse student voices through partnerships with community storytellers, journalists, and nonprofit partners. The organization aims to increase local readership among youth and provide a platform for young journalists to publish writing on a large scale.
By promoting themes of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Amplify Utah seeks to increase media literacy and community engagement while helping drive revenue for local news organizations to continue producing diverse content.
The project was established by Marcie Young Cancio, an assistant professor of journalism and digital media at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC) and former journalist for KUTV 2
News, Salt Lake Magazine, and others. Young Cancio founded the organization to address patterns where newsrooms rarely bolster diverse perspectives due to a lack of resources or a tendency to rely on already represented voices.
Amplify Utah operates as a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Following a successful $65,000 funding proposal for the Google News Initiative, the project established its inaugural work through collaborations with The Salt Lake Tribune and SLCC. These partnerships allowed for the creation of a professional website by Third Sun and provided student journalists access to hardware, software, and faculty support.
Key project goals include building a repeatable framework or playbook for other communities, expanding partnerships with nonprofits, and ensuring SLCC student journalists produce original reporting on critical issues facing Utah. The project also aims to increase community understanding of the strengths and experiences of Utah's growing Latinx, Black, and Pacific Islander populations.
In its first 18 months, the project has seen significant measurable impact. Accomplishments include the publication of 40 stories by 23 student authors on the Salt Lake Tribune website, with approximately 30 additional stories aired or published through partners like KRCL’s RadioActive segment and SLCC’s The Globe. Additionally, each Amplify Utah story achieved an average of 3.9 minutes of engagement on sltrib.com.
The project's reach has extended beyond Utah, as organizations in Maryland and Nevada have begun building upon the Amplify Utah playbook to create similar projects in their own communities.
While the initiative has seen success, organizers noted that ongoing funding is required to cover student stipends and part-time staff roles such as project managers and grant writers. Future efforts include clarifying the use of story repositories and strengthening partnership agreements through formal memorandums of agreement.
Amplify Utah continues to utilize its network of community organizations, including West View Media, SpyHop, and the Utah Film Center, to promote and distribute student stories.
