Uprise RI founder and reporter Steve Ahlquist has left his progressive news and opinion website to launch a Substack.
The move to a newsletter platform marks a big shift in the state’s political media ecosystem. “Uprise RI was conceived as an effort to grow a full fledged, if compact, media company that would grow and evolve over time,” Ahlquist said in an e-mail.
“Sadly, in part due to my inability to both do the work of creating content AND doing the things to grow a nascent company, that didn’t happen,” he said. “I left to get back to my roots as a reporter doing the work in a way that did not have to build a company.”
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Ahlquist is offering different pricing levels, but the paywall will be voluntary and all his work will be available for free, he said. “I count on people who are doing a little better to support my work so that everybody can access it,” Ahqluist said.
Ahlquist founded Uprise RI in 2017 after working at RI Future, a now-dormant but once influential political blog. Ahlquist is perhaps best described as an advocacy journalist – breaking news, covering events on the ground, and doing it all with a point of view that’s plain for anyone to see, including when he occasionally testifies before public bodies.
Ahlquist’s partner in Uprise RI, Greg Brailsford, said in a post on the website that Ahlquist’s decision to leave “came abruptly and was a shock to all of us.”
Uprise RI will continue publishing in-depth investigative stories, Brailsford wrote. The focus of the site, though, will become what he called The Helping Hand, which “provide resources for Rhode Islanders who are stuck in unfortunate situations and need assistance.” Brailsford also announced plans for RI-Views, a Yelp-style reviewing service for state agencies.
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In a follow-up email to me, Brailsford said Uprise RI isn’t actively looking to hire a new reporter. It will continue to accept stories from guest contributors, Brailsford said.
So far, some of the topics Ahlquist has covered on his Substack include Juneteenth, payday loans, and a protest against Governor Dan McKee over the Cranston Street Armory. He’ll also cover elections, Providence’s comprehensive plan, housing and homelessness, and other things he’s covered at Uprise and RI Future.
“For me the only difference is where I’m doing it,” Ahlquist said.
This story first appeared in Rhode Map, our free newsletter about Rhode Island that also contains information about local events, links to interesting stories, and more. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.
Brian Amaral can be reached at brian.amaral@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44.