Since February 2023, WFHB Community Radio and Limestone Post Magazine have teamed up to produce the innovative local news series Deep Dive: WFHB & Limestone Post Investigate. This collaboration, funded in part by the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, has had more impact than either news outlet anticipated.

In the series, Limestone Post published an in-depth article about once a month on a consequential community issue, and WFHB covered the same issue in multiple weekly reports on its local news program. The topics covered were both broad and inclusive: housing, food insecurity, water quality, education, political polarization, the environment, energy security, mental health, and many more. 

WFHB News Director Kade Young (left) and Assistant News Director Noelle Herhusky-Schneider at the awards ceremony in May 2025 for the Society of Professional Journalists’ “Best in Indiana” Journalism Contest. | Photo by Indiana Professional Chapter of SPJ

In 2024, Deep Dive contributors brought home six awards from the “Best in Indiana” Journalism Contest by the Society of Professional Journalists, and this year the series won three more 1st-place honors. The impact of the series is reflected in the range of award categories for which the articles were recognized: Environmental Reporting, Medical or Science Reporting, Business or Consumer Affairs Reporting, and Coverage of Social Justice Issues, to name just a few. 

For one of the winning stories, an SPJ judge said, “The struggles of refugees settling in Bloomington and the groups that extend help to the newcomers are highlighted in this story. Comments from a wide range of sources, including an Afghan couple who fled their home country after the Taliban took control, helped make the entry a winner.” 

Another judge cited WFHB’s reports on food insecurity: “Nice, in-depth work in all of these entries. It’s good to see that community journalism still has the bandwidth for in-depth journalism.”

The Deep Dive collaboration helped both news outlets share resources to cover complex issues that have a direct impact on residents in the community. It also allowed them to include more perspectives and voices for their readers and listeners. In addition, both WFHB and Limestone Post collaborated with other outlets, such as the Arnolt Center for Investigative Journalism and The Bloomingtonian, to expand their reach and resources.

While the focus of Deep Dive was on local issues, the series has been noticed far beyond Indiana. On June 12, 2025, The International Center in Indianapolis brought a delegation of nine journalism professionals from several countries to Bloomington to speak with local journalists. The international journalists, who came from Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sierra Leone, Mozambique, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, and Brazil, were part of the U.S. Department of State’s Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists.

After attending a workshop hosted by professors at the IU Media School, the international journalists and their interpreters visited the WFHB Firehouse station for a conversation with WFHB News Director Kade Young, Assistant News Director Noelle Herhusky-Schneider, Limestone Post Assistant Editor Anne Kibbler, and LP Editor Ron Eid.

The International Center in Indianapolis hosted a group of international journalists who were participating in the U.S. Department of State’s Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists. They visited with editorial staff members from WFHB and Limestone Post to discuss the Deep Dive collaboration, as well as the opportunities and challenges in covering local news. (l-r) Musa Sidya Kamara (Sierra Leone), Noelle Herhusky-Schneider (WFHB), Josimar de Ceita Afonso (São Tomé & Principe), Kade Young (WFHB), Tinashe Kairiza (Zimbabwe), Sokhna Khadydiatou Sakho (Senegal), Chinereth Isaque Ramos José (São Tomé & Principe), Anne Kibbler (Limestone Post), Robert Adiga (Uganda, back row in cap), Graziela França Da Silva (Brazil), Ron Eid (Limestone Post, back row), Sara Pavani (Brazil), and Julieta Berta Antonio Zucula (Mozambique). Interpreters (not pictured): Maria Marta Lage and Lynnea Hansen | Photo by Lynnea Hansen

Neelam Patel, Senior Manager of Global Programs at The International Center, said the journalists wanted to learn about investigative journalism in general and Deep Dive in particular. They talked about reporting projects and challenges in their home countries, and they asked about the community impact of Deep Dive, as well as audience reactions, government influence, financial support, reporting processes, and, of course, how the collaboration between news organizations worked.

The Deep Dive series covered a range of local issues, including education, housing, food insecurity, water quality, the environment, energy security, and teen mental health. | Photography by Garrett Ann Walters

From a local perspective, Young says the collaboration bolstered WFHB’s local news programming with high-quality, public-service journalism. “Working with Limestone Post’s writers, photographers, and editors has permitted us to create something greater than the sum of its individual parts,” Young says. “It informed the news reporting process, created greater visibility for both parties, and granted us the ability to go above and beyond our regular news coverage.”

WFHB’s full-time staff is supported by volunteers from throughout the community, including many under-represented populations. Similarly, Limestone Post’s content is created mostly by local freelance contributors. This allows both outlets to include voices from neighbors and neighborhoods that are too often ignored. 

Another unique feature of this series is how the collaboration increased the reporting impact of both organizations, says Eid. “While our in-depth articles usually included a variety of sources, the reporters in the WFHB News Department were able to both include more extensive quotes from the same sources and find other sources — more voices — to fill out their reporting.”

“This series has been the most impactful news collaboration in Limestone Post’s ten-year history,” Eid says.

Since the Deep Dive series began in February 2023, the most-read article at Limestone Post has been the Deep Dive story on the health of Monroe Lake, the primary source of the community’s drinking water. Written by Michael G. Glab, it won 3rd place for “Business or Consumer Affairs Reporting” in the SPJ “Best in Indiana” Journalism Contest. | Photography by Anna Powell Denton

Young, Herhusky-Schneider, and Eid were also invited to speak about Deep Dive at the Bloomington Press Club in November 2024. The Press Club is a local organization of journalists and other people concerned about the state of local news in the community.

Deep Dive was first made possible by a Community Impact Grant from the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County. This in itself is significant, because prior to the initial grant, the Community Foundation had not set aside funding specifically for local media. Soon, though, the foundation established a “field of interest” fund solely for local news. 

Furthermore, the Community Foundation helped secure an additional $10,000 in funding from the Knight Foundation to continue the Deep Dive series for another year.

When the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) named Deep Dive as a finalist for Journalism Collaboration of the Year in its 2023 Nonprofit News Awards, Tina Peterson, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County, said, “This series has shone a light on issues important to our community, and we’re proud to see Limestone Post and WFHB receive recognition from INN for this collaborative effort.” 

Peterson added, “In a time when traditional local news outlets are shrinking, smaller communities nationwide are experiencing a loss in consistent and comprehensive local news coverage. The Deep Dive series represented a unique opportunity for the Community Foundation to support a collaborative news project, allowing two news organizations to work together in providing Monroe County residents with vital information, comprehensive coverage, and transparency.”

While the grant term has ended, the news teams at WFHB and Limestone Post intend to continue the collaboration with more investigative reporting as resources allow.