For more than a decade until November 2022, reporter Brian Lyman served as the Montgomery Advertiser’s Capitol reporter, covering all things politics and government in Alabama.
Now, he is taking advantage of this experience to lead the Alabama Reflectora nonprofit news site dedicated to making sure Alabamians know exactly what’s going on inside the Statehouse every day.
The Reflector is a subsidiary of States newsrooman organization that funds political reporting in 34 US states with donor support.
“Many newspapers, for whatever reason, feel they don’t have the resources to commit to coverage of the state capitol. As we’ve seen in recent years, however, some of the most interesting legislation, as well as some of the most destructive, are leaving the state capitol,” Lyman said. “When you lose that, you create a news desert. States Newsroom aims to fill that void.”
How the Alabama Reflector works
The Reflector publishes its articles online under a Creative Commons license, allowing them to be freely shared and republished across platforms. Established news organizations like the Advertiser, AL.com and even outlets outside of Alabama have republished articles from the Reflector since its Feb. 7 launch.
“My goal for this has been to connect people at the state Capitol,” Lyman said. “I hope other media will see us as a support system for that.”
Since Lyman began covering Alabama politics in 2006, he has developed a reputation for comprehensive and timely reporting on the nuances of Statehouse decisions and the powerful people involved. He got used to people coming up to him and asking, “What’s really going on?” And every time he answered: “Everything I know is in the newspaper.”
Lyman is the editor of the Reflector, overseeing the coverage of three staff reporters. He is also a regular commenter when he wants to highlight a news story or share your perspective on legislative issues — like when U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently commented on white nationalism in an interview with WBHM.
Meet the journalists
When Lyman signed on to start an Alabama affiliate of the States Newsroom in the fall of 2022, the outlet didn’t even have a name. He said the national leadership basically gave him free rein to design the newsroom he thought would best serve the Alabama audience.
He quickly narrowed his focus to three areas: education, health, and criminal justice.
“Getting the Alabama criminal justice landscape and figuring out what it’s like across the South has been the most time-consuming work,” said senior reporter Ralph Chapoco. “People have to trust me, and they don’t unless they know me.”
Chapoco previously worked as a political reporter for Florida Today, a newspaper in Brevard County, Florida. (Like the Montgomery Advertiser, Florida Today is part of the USA Today network.) Before that, he earned his master’s degree from the University of Missouri and reported in New Mexico, Nebraska, Wisconsin and Arizona.
“This is really a different atmosphere when it comes to how we think about the issues and their history,” he said.
State government and health policy reporter Alander Rocha has found that to be true, too. He hosted a health-focused podcast in Northeast Georgia while earning his master’s degree at the University of Georgia and reported for Kaiser Health News before moving to Alabama.
Since joining the Reflector in January, Rocha said she has been able to see the direct impact of her work. For example, I was the only reporter in the room when the Alabama Democratic Party removed its youth, LGBTQ+ and disability groups earlier this month.
“I feel like if I hadn’t been in that meeting, it would have been a very ‘he said, she said.’ It was great to be the person to break that story,” Rocha said.
Following the publication of this article in the Reflector, the Democratic National Committee acted, reporting to the Alabama Democratic Party that his actions appeared to create “the unequal treatment of minority groups.”
The Reflector’s education reporter Jemma Stephenson said it’s not uncommon these days for officials to make changes to statutes or even state law without many people noticing. That’s why he thinks the Reflector’s focus on policy coverage is important, noting that outlets across the state can repost it at no cost.
“We’re not competitive policy coverage. We’re collaborative,” Stephenson said. “We’re able to tell these stories about policies that affect people’s lives, but we can also help free up time for other reporters around the state.”
Stephenson earned his master’s degree from Columbia University and covered education issues for the Montgomery Advertiser before joining the Reflector.
what comes next
From earning his master’s degree at Columbia University to his political prowess in Alabama, Lyman said he’s been grateful for all the mentors and editors who trusted him to know his rhythm. When I came to them with a story, they thought it would be worth it.
This is the approach he is adopting as editor of the Reflector.
“It sounds almost obvious, but you’ll write better when you’re interested in a topic than when someone gives you something to write about,” Lyman said. “We’ve hired some really good people for the Reflector.”
With just a few days left in the current legislative session, Lyman and his reporters are ready to travel outside of Montgomery and report on the visceral impact of the new legislation.
“I really hope to see a lot more in the way of long-form reporting, features and actually getting out of the Capitol and just talking to people,” Lyman said. “If nothing else, if we can make people feel like they’re being heard, I think we’re doing them a small service.”
Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be contacted athhitson@gannett.com. To support your work,subscribe to the advertiserordonate to Report for America.
