Newport Historical Society’s Executive Director Ruth Taylor recently sat down, virtually, with What’s Up Newp’s Ryan Belmore to discusses the shift in community journalism that has taken place over the past year, and What’s Up Newp’s pivot from reporting on local events to providing detailed coverage of quarantine protocols, vaccine distribution, unsung heroes and more, as part of their initiative History in the Making

The History in the Making initiative, comprised of video interviews recorded for the Newport Historical Society’s archives and available to view on YouTube, seeks to document present-day developments and tensions as a way of connecting the future to the past.

Since the Newport Historical Society was established in 1854, collecting objects and documents relating to important moments has been central to their mission. It’s therefore a natural transition for the Society to document the here and now for future researchers. 

To learn more about the Newport Historical Society, including History in the Making and to explore their digital archives, visit NewportHistory.org.

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...