Something exciting is coming soon. We don’t know a lot about it. We think it’s going to be good.
I could be talking about Santa Claus or the many white elephant gift exchanges we’re just weeks away from. But honestly, I think this is better. (I always get the dud lottery tickets in those gift exchanges so I’m a bit jaded.)
It’s Press Forward, an initiative created to get $500 million into local news.
Let’s spend a little time breaking down what it is, who’s behind it, when it’s happening, what we should be looking for and more.
What is it?
According to a September press release, Press Forward is “a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than a half-billion dollars over the next five years. Press Forward will enhance local journalism at an unprecedented level to re-center local news as a force for community cohesion; support new models and solutions that are ready to scale; and close longstanding inequities in journalism coverage and practice.”
Who’s behind it?
The big funders appear to be the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Knight Foundation. Other initial partners include: The Archewell Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln, Democracy Fund, Ford Foundation, Mary W. Graham, Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group, Heising-Simons Foundation, Henry Luce Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Joyce Foundation, KFF, The Lenfest Institute for Journalism, Lumina Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Outrider Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Skyline Foundation, and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.
Is this new new?
Yes and no. You might recognize a lot of those organizations because they’ve been funding journalism and local journalism for a while now. A couple years ago, I wrote about the rise in philanthropic funding for for-profit newsrooms. Before that, I spent several years covering local digital transformation (and my position was funded by the Knight Foundation).
What’s new, as far as I can see it, is the big coalition approach to supporting local news.
How will it work?
According to Press Forward’s site, it will work in three ways: aligned grantmaking, a pooled fund and local chapters. That’s a lot of institutional speak, but they do break it down a little.
Aligned grantmaking is the biggest of the three buckets, according to Press Forward, and allows funders to give “directly to local news initiatives.” Announcements about grants are expected to start coming out by the end of the year.
The pooled fund is a place for national funders that aren’t already working in journalism a place to donate. It’s housed at The Miami Foundation.
Press Forward Local Chapters were announced in November and have already been established in Alaska, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas and Philadelphia.
“Our goal is to raise the next $500 million at the local level,” said John Palfrey, president of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, in a press release. “For local news to be sustainable over the long term, communities will need to stand up and support their local news providers. We will need to invest in local news the same way that we invest in arts and culture, hospitals, or our alma maters. We are building a movement.”
What helped inform this approach?
If you haven’t already, dive into The Roadmap For Local News. That guidance comes out of a year-long research project and was written by Elizabeth Green of Chalkbeat, Darryl Holliday of City Bureau, and Mike Rispoli of Free Press, as well as other contributors. It focuses on the emerging practice of civic media, which “seeks not simply to ‘inform,’ ‘entertain,’ or ‘engage,’ but to equip people with the information they need to make the places they live better: civic information. Networks of civic media practitioners – in digital news startups, grassroots community groups and think tanks, libraries and schools, and public media institutions across the country – are blossoming and poised for dramatic expansion.” You can see more here.
What should we be watching for?
The big one, to quote the headline of an open letter from a number of organizations, is “equitable distribution of resources to underrepresented voices in local news.”
The letter, from OpenNews, the Maynard Institute, ONA, the Asian American Journalists Association, Indigenous Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists and National Association of Hispanic Journalists, included this:
“As this initiative unfolds and decisions are made about where support is directed, we want to be clear: Racial and ethnic diversity, equity and belonging must be among the pillars of its foundation. An equitable distribution of resources and opportunities ensures that underrepresented voices are heard and elevated by journalists, leaders and publishers who know them best.”
Where will the money go?
Great question. Perhaps we can glean a bit from Press Forward’s stated shared values, which include:
Prioritizing transformation: “We believe the sustainability of local news will depend on shifting newsrooms’ practice, community support, philanthropic priorities, and policy frameworks to ensure all communities have access to trusted local news and civic information.”
Centering community needs: “This effort is focused on meeting community information needs, expanding community-centered reporting, and listening to individuals and organizations in the field.”
Enabling growth with equity and diversity of thought: “We will close longstanding inequities in media ownership, philanthropy, and journalism, so the future of local news in America is more relevant and better serves all communities, especially those that have been historically marginalized in media and democracy.”
Ensuring accessibility: “We see journalism as a public good, that must be accessible to the widest population regardless of economic, technological, or language barriers.”
Press Forward’s funding priorities include strengthening trusted local newsrooms, scaling infrastructure, “closing longstanding inequities in … coverage and practice,” and “advancing public policies.”
Also, NPR and a group of public media leaders put out a position paper in September that makes the case for public media to be included in upcoming funding.
Where should the money go?
The Pivot Fund’s Tracie Powell has been asking people how they’d spend all that money. This week, she shared an answer from Indian Country Today’s Mark Trahant who said, in part, “I would do this $500 million idea radically differently. I would start with the premise that this country cannot be what we want it to be unless the media tells the story of all of our citizens.” Read more here.
Will it be enough?
One voice I’m paying attention to right now is Richard Tofel, the founding general manager of ProPublica. His newsletter, Second Rough Draft, is a must-read. A few months ago, Tofel asked some tough questions about the amount of funding, the approach and potential outcomes. You can read it here.
He includes this: “At least a couple of respected observers have estimated that the need for philanthropy to fund local journalism across the country costs out at about one billion dollars per year. If we spread the announced $500 million across the five years planned for the initiative, this is perhaps 10% of the total need over that period. That’s significant, but you might want to think of it like two more meals a week for people who are starving—probably enough to keep them alive for a time pending other help, but not nearly enough to make them healthy. To again give them their due, the Press Forward organizers know this, which is why they continue to fundraise.”
What don’t we know?
A lot. What can newsrooms do now to be ready when funding opportunities are announced? What might an average funding amount be? Will there be an average? How will success be measured? And who will do the measuring?
What’s next?
At least with Santa, we have a firm timeline. With Press Forward? It looks like opportunities to apply for funding will come out next year.
What questions do you have about Press Forward? Email them to me and I’ll try to get answers.
This originally appeared in Local Edition, our newsletter devoted to covering what’s happening and what’s working in local news. You can subscribe here.
