The American Journalism Project made its first philanthropic investments in public media with the goal of examining the role public media could play in rebuilding local news. Halfway through this program, we explore the progress being made so far during these pilot grants.
We are in the midst of a fundamental transformation in how we finance and sustain local news, and with the help of programs like the Local News Incubator, we'll continue to see this momentum build as a new generation of organizations lead the way.
In 2022, our grantees met the moment with ingenuity, resilience, and determination.
AJP CEO, Sarabeth Berman: “Nonprofit does not mean non-commercial. The goal is to leverage philanthropy to establish these nonprofit organizations [and] build into a place where they can become self-sustaining.”
“In 2023, we will not only continue to see more local news organizations open up shop, but also the sustainability and scalability of the nonprofit model to reach more communities that remain underserved by local news.”
"If there’s any sort of potential bright spot coming out of some of the current tech platform crises, it’s that news and journalism institutions can offer a counter message and cement themselves as reliable sources of community information and connection.”
This fall, we hosted a series of panels centered around one question: Does local news matter? Each panel highlighted a researcher and a leader of a local nonprofit news organization.
Local news holds the government accountable, one of the many reasons it’s essential to democracy. In the final conversation in our series of conversations on the impact of local news, we heard from Nikki Usher of the University of San Diego, Jon Ralston of the Nevada Independent and Michelle De La Isla, former mayor of Topeka, Kansas.
As we work to rebuild local news, we have a clear, urgent opportunity to create news organizations that are more diverse, equitable and inclusive. This shift must happen both inside the newsroom — with better policies for recruitment, hiring, training, retention and growth – and in the communities newsrooms serve.
Despite growing participation in national politics and high volumes of information available online, local political engagement in the U.S. has declined — but local news can be a solution.
We’re building a movement for local news.
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