Most Cornell students can’t wait to leave Ithaca to make their mark—but not Jeff Stein ’13, who’s been making headlines as the founder and editor of the Ithaca Voice.

A history major, native Manhattanite, and former Cornell Daily Sun editor, Jeff started the not-for-profit online newspaper as an “experiment” in civic journalism. Asking “How can we serve this community?” he puts a magnifying lens on local topics and issues—from examining Ithaca’s affordable-housing crisis, to exploring the debate around the Cayuga Power Plant; from profiling politicians, to featuring a street-corner magician.

With community support, the Ithaca Voice continues to offer an alternative model to the sprawl of big media conglomerates, according to Jeff. The task has been challenging and gratifying: “Having the chance to make a difference and having a say in the important debates in your city every day you go to work is a beyond-phenomenally fun job.”