Press Forward Stories

Note: This piece is part of a series on how Press Forward’s funder coalition is investing according to the initiative’s four investment priorities: local news sustainability, equity, infrastructure and public policy. Our first piece covered infrastructure, and this one puts the spotlight on public policy and the growing role it plays in supporting local news. It’s a strange notion for … Read More

Today, the Listening Post Collective at Internews and the Information Futures Lab at Brown University are unveiling a new Civic Information Index that tracks communities’ civic health—including the vibrancy of their local news ecosystem—down to the county level.  Here, Director Dale Anglin writes about why Press Forward funded it. You can view the index at civicinfoindex.org. At Press Forward, we … Read More

Note: This piece is part of a series on how Press Forward’s funder coalition is investing according to the initiative’s four investment priorities: local news sustainability, equity, infrastructure and public policy. As Press Forward’s second open grant opportunity is for grants that support the field’s infrastructure, we wanted to start by asking national and local funders about the work they … Read More

A few years ago, it would have been surprising to see public policy as one of four pillars in a nationwide campaign to support the future of local news. While government action and policy have always shaped media and journalism in America—and nearly all other democratic nations feature a strong public media sector—modern debates about the sustainability of local news … Read More

Today, as we announce the recipients of Press Forward’s first Open Call on Closing Local Coverage Gaps, we are also wrapping up a months-long process that drew on the expertise of 150+ people. Staff were guided by the insights of our Management Committee and our broad coalition of 60+ funders and journalism serving organizations, as well as the people who … Read More

What does it take to become a Press Forward local chapter? We’ve been thrilled with the enthusiasm of place-based foundations nationwide that want to form their own chapters. In just a few months, we’ve eagerly welcomed 25 chapters in our network, from Alaska to South Florida. Launching a chapter is one way for place-based foundations to make an enduring impact … Read More

Melissa Milios Davis has spent the past few years building the local news ecosystem in Colorado as head of the Colorado Media Project, which was named one of Press Forward’s first local chapters. This September, she joins Press Forward as our Network Manager, and will lead efforts to engage our diverse array of aligned funders. We spoke with Davis about … Read More

Throughout her career, Caroline Merenda has been recruited to help build new initiatives. At Rochester Area Community Foundation, she developed the organization’s first professional grantmaking program. Next, she headed to CFLeads – the national network of community foundations – just as the organization took flight. Now, Merenda is joining Press Forward to build our growing local chapters program and strengthen … Read More

100 Days in Appalachia was meant to be a pop-up publication. The newsroom planned to cover then-President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office through a nuanced and place-based lens. But on April 29, 2017 — day 100 of Trump’s presidency — newsroom staffers reported on a resurgent white supremacist rally in Pikeville, Kentucky, and plans changed. “That very day … Read More

As we approach the first anniversary of Press Forward’s launch, we wanted to take a moment to celebrate our progress with a new Interim Report. Press Forward’s launch was a call to action for more funders to join in and find ways to support the local news that strengthens our communities. We’re thrilled the call was heeded, that more money … Read More

At our recent Information Session, Press Forward and its partners shared a range of insights into our Open Call on Closing Local Coverage Gaps, which is offering small news outlets funding for addressing historic inequities in news coverage across the United States. Below are a few top tips they shared on applying. Feel free to pour a cup of coffee … Read More

If your local news initiative doesn’t meet the criteria for an open call, the organization can still get its mission in front of funders by creating a Press Forward profile  on our grantmaking platform JustFund.

When I was in Miami for Knight Media Forum 2024 to announce our role leading Press Forward North Carolina alongside Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust, I celebrated the opportunity to share what’s happening in North Carolina.

Christina Shih began her journalism career building out the membership program at the Voice of San Diego, one of the country’s first digital nonprofit newsrooms.

If this blog post were a text or WhatsApp message, it would be short, sweet and to the point. It may be written in a different language. It may include emojis or a prompt to respond. It would help the recipient make better-informed decisions. Delivering news and information through text-messaging systems or platforms like WhatsApp might sound unusual, but it’s … Read More

This week is my first as Press Forward’s director, a challenge I’m thrilled to take on. As I am settling in, I have been learning the finer details about Press Forward and wanted to share some perspective and a bit about where we are headed. First, thank you for being patient as Press Forward has worked over the past six … Read More

Dale R. Anglin grew up in a family of news junkies. If the Chicago Sun-Times wasn’t delivered punctually to their home on Chicago’s South Side, her mom wasn’t happy. Yet at the same time, Anglin realized the news her family needed wasn’t just delivered in that newspaper. Every Sunday, her grandmother insisted on reading her church’s news bulletin. “She had … Read More

Getting access to local news and information can be challenging in Alaska, where most of the state’s 350 communities are not connected by roads.  So in 2019, the Atwood Foundation, which has deep roots in local news, partnered with the local community foundation to create the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism. Its mission is to  fund in-depth reporting projects … Read More

Crossposted from McKnight Foundation’s blog. Journalism is a force that has always been deeply intertwined with my life, beginning when I observed my father faithfully poring over the daily edition of the Star Tribune. As I progressed to high school, I was featured in the Bloomington Sun Current, which was covering our high school baseball games. The sheer pride of … Read More