Outlet profile

Louisiana Illuminator

U.S. center-left

Owned byNonprofit affiliate of States Newsroom, a 501(c)(3) network of state-focused outlets; editorially independent local board

FundingGrants and donor contributions through States Newsroom (a 501(c)(3) that accepts no corporate donations and discloses donors giving $1,000+); initially fiscally sponsored by the Hopewell Fund, part of the Arabella Advisors-managed donor network, before gaining independent tax-exempt status

On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

Louisiana Illuminator launched in June 2020 as part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit network created to fill gaps in state capitol coverage after local newsroom cutbacks. States Newsroom initially operated under fiscal sponsorship from the Hopewell Fund, a donor-advised fund managed by Arabella Advisors, a firm that services a cluster of left-leaning nonprofit and political-advocacy groups; States Newsroom later obtained its own IRS 501(c)(3) status and says it severed ties with Hopewell and does not accept corporate donations. The network has since grown to dozens of state affiliates with newsrooms in every state capital, combining original reporting with wire-service-style content sharing across its sites. Louisiana Illuminator covers state government, courts, elections, and policy issues such as health care, education, and criminal justice, staffed by veteran Louisiana journalists. Media-rating groups including Media Bias/Fact Check, Ad Fontes, and AllSides classify it as left-leaning, despite the outlet describing itself as nonpartisan; critics such as Influence Watch and conservative watchdogs point to its Arabella-linked origins as evidence of a progressive donor lineage. It has not been the subject of major factual-accuracy scandals, and MBFC rates its factual reporting as high.

Sources

Profile compiled 2026-10-02; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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