Tennessee Lookout
U.S. left-leaning
Background
Tennessee Lookout launched on May 6, 2020, as the 14th outlet in the States Newsroom network and its fourth in the South. States Newsroom itself was founded in 2017–2019 by Chris Fitzsimon, who previously ran NC Policy Watch, a progressive North Carolina news and commentary site, and was initially fiscally sponsored by the Hopewell Fund, a left-of-center nonprofit managed by the consulting firm Arabella Advisors. After receiving its own 501(c)(3) status, Tennessee Lookout severed its formal tie to Hopewell but continued to operate under the States Newsroom umbrella. The outlet is led by editor Holly McCall, a veteran Tennessee political reporter who has also worked in political communications. In 2022 it joined ProPublica's Local Reporting Network, gaining a formal partnership for investigative projects. Media Bias/Fact Check rates it 'Left' with 'High' factual reporting. Coverage has emphasized Democratic-aligned policy priorities — Medicaid expansion, voting access, immigration — and the outlet's editor's columns have described Tennessee Republican leadership as enabling or mirroring Trump administration policies, consistent with a consistently critical posture toward the second Trump term.
Sources
- Tennessee Lookout – About
- States Newsroom Launches Tennessee Lookout
- Tennessee Lookout – InfluenceWatch
- States Newsroom – InfluenceWatch
- Tennessee Lookout – Media Bias/Fact Check
- ProPublica selects Tennessee Lookout for newsroom partnership
- States Newsroom is the future of state journalism? – Columbia Journalism Review
- Editor's notebook: Tennessee leadership bends the knee to Washington
Profile compiled 2026-07-26; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.