Amplify Utah

Amplify Utah is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in the summer of 2020 by Marcie Young Cancio, an assistant professor of journalism and digital media at Salt Lake Community College and clinical associate professor at the University of Utah. Born as a passion project to offer publishing opportunities to students, the organization quickly grew into a structured collaborative connecting student and emerging journalists with professional local media outlets across Utah. Rather than functioning as a newsroom producing its own content, Amplify Utah serves as a bridge collecting student-produced stories in a "Story Room" repository and placing them with partner outlets including the Salt Lake Tribune, the Standard Examiner, KRCL 90.9 FM, and PBS Utah. Students who have their work published receive stipends, and the model has facilitated over 125 published student stories to date. Amplify Utah has expanded to partner with journalism programs at five of Utah's eight public universities and colleges and co-produces a collaborative student newsroom with PBS Utah focused on major statewide issues.