Today, Fast Company named Press Forward to its list of the Most Innovative Companies of 2025 (not-for-profit category) for our ground-up approach to supporting 21st-century local news nationwide.

We’re thrilled this honor helps us highlight the vital role of reliable local news in strengthening communities across the U.S. Particularly in today’s world, where we are quick to disagree, local news grounds us in what’s most important to our lives, families, and communities.

Local news connects communities 

Panelists at the Carolina Public Press Newsmakers forum on hunger and food insecurity discussed the issues contributing to food insecurity. Credit: Matt Rose/Carolina Public Press.

Press Forward is a nationwide coalition with 36 chapters to date, where local leaders in cities and regions across the U.S. are building a base of support for local news that has the trust of their communities. One thing is clear across this varied landscape: Whether they live in Alaska, Arkansas or Appalachia, people are hungry for reliable, non-partisan news that connects neighbors and shines light on local issues. They value local news as a catalyst for connection, telling us what’s happening at City Hall, in our schools, and even this weekend.

Research shows that cities and towns with strong local news sources are less divided, and more people vote and run for office. But beyond how we govern ourselves and engage in civic life, local news has another critical role. It’s how we get to know each other, whether we’re learning about a high school athlete breaking records or a child winning the local Spelling Bee, as I get to read in my local news source, Signal Ohio.

Local stories lift us from the national rhetoric and echo chambers that divide us – and become the glue that binds us.

A Documenter’s training in Bismarck. Image by Jodi Rave Spotted Bear.

At Press Forward, we are honored to support and witness many local news innovators experimenting with new approaches, even as the field faces significant challenges. I think of Buffalo’s Fire, which recently launched the first Indigenous-led Documenter’s program in the U.S., where trained volunteers are now reporting on their local governments in Bismarck, North Dakota; Conecta Arizona, which engages readers in Spanish via WhatsApp; and the Fayetteville Flyer, which just added its first full-time reporter, allowing it to expand coverage while implementing a reader revenue program. These are the types of outlets that will ensure a bright future for local news.

To these local news leaders and others who wake up daily and continue to ensure we have the news and information we need, despite difficult circumstances – thank you.

Thank you as well to our network of philanthropic partners, who have invested more than $200 million to date to strengthen reliable local news that is trusted by local communities.

This honor is yours, too. We look forward to continuing this work alongside you.

Dale Anglin is the director of Press Forward.