Built with local newsrooms in mind.
Our software strengthens entire media ecosystems, recognizing that even the biggest newsrooms depend on the reporting of their hyperlocal peers.
Plucky Works makes practical software for scrappy newsrooms of every size. Our tools help publishers work more effectively with community members, businesses, freelancers, and other news organizations without replacing the systems they already use.
The company grew out of our work with the Granite State News Collaborative in New Hampshire. When its member newsrooms needed a better way to share reporting, we worked alongside editors to replace a complicated process built around email and thousands of Google Drive folders. That project became Plucky Wire.
The lessons from that experience still shape everything we build. We start with real newsroom workflows, keep setup manageable, and focus on tools that save time, support more original reporting, or open practical revenue opportunities. Today, we are applying that approach to community submissions, calendars, assignments, and story sharing for newsrooms across the country.
Meet our team
Johnny Bassett
CEO
Johnny has worked with and for journalists his entire career. As a documentary film editor, he helped craft award-winning films working on teams with tiny technical resources. As a historian in the Philippines, he taught himself Python programming to digitize 300,000 pages of local newspapers, producing one of that country's largest newspaper archives. After working with local newsrooms for several years, he founded Plucky Works to build practical tools for newsrooms around the country. Johnny holds a BA in history from Harvard College and a PhD in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Joe Youngquist
Software Architect & Developer
Joe spent more than a decade at Gannett and the USA TODAY Network, beginning in digital operations at the Journal & Courier before moving into solutions & enterprise architecture. He helped develop technology supporting digital publishing, analytics, advertising, and content delivery across the enterprise. He brings deep experience translating the needs of journalists, publishers, and business teams into practical, scalable products.
Sophia Marschall
Newsroom Support
Sophia is a freelance journalist based in the Twin Cities. She brings experience from internships at Rochester Women’s Magazine, Minnesota Public Radio, and the Rochester Post Bulletin, and is passionate about the importance of local news. In her free time, you can usually find her thrifting, watching movies, or with her cat, Clover.
Read about us
Local Media Association highlights Plucky Works
How content sharing is empowering newsrooms.
Plucky Wire wins national startup competition
American Public Media and the Glen Nelson Center recognize innovation in News Tech