The first-ever venture philanthropy dedicated to
#localnews
. We invest in + build nonprofit newsrooms that are sustained by and look like the people they serve.
We're partnering with a coalition of Cleveland-based organizations on an exciting new initiative to ensure every resident of Ohio has the local news they need... and we're hiring a founding team! Learn more and apply here:
🗞️Ohio Local News Initiative +
@MarshallProj
are joining forces to fund a new community reporting collaboration. Local journalist Rachel Dissell is joining the Initiative + will contribute to reporting +
#communityengagement
efforts of both newsrooms.
The
@nytimes
is continuing the coverage of an important story coming out of Mississippi, made possible by the in-depth reporting done by the great folks at
@MSTODAYnews
NEW: Cleveland’s Lila Mills has been named as Editor in Chief of the Ohio Local News Initiative’s first newsroom. Currently associate director at
@NeighborUpCle
, Mills will combine her journalism & community-building background for this role. More: .
NEW: What do people want from local news? Nearly 5,000 people in 8 markets across the country have shared their thoughts with us. AJP’s
@LorettaChao
shares what we’ve learned so far 🧵⬇️
We’re thrilled to announce our newest grantees:
@EnlaceLatinoNC
,
@FortWorthReport
and
@flatwaterfreep
! These nonprofit local news organizations will build new sustainable models for local news in North Carolina, Texas and Nebraska.
🗣️Excited to announce new American Journalism Project grantees
@documentedny
@mtfreepress
@beacon_news
.
They join an exemplary portfolio of nonprofit newsrooms informing and empowering communities around the country. 👏👏👏
Read More Here -->
An important opportunity for the local news movement! This new wave of philanthropic funding is poised to accelerate the progress underway toward rebuilding a sustainable local news field that serves communities and our democracy.
We’re excited to launch a new incubator program, with support from
@GoogleNewsInit
. Individuals and pairs with outstanding ideas for a new, community-driven local news organization can apply for this 18-month incubator. (🧵🔽)
Today we're launching a major effort to reinvigorate local news with $42M in founding commitments. Here's how we stand ready to work collaboratively in catalyzing a new generation of civic news organizations.
🔊NEW: The American Journalism Project is partnering with
@OpenAI
on an effort to use AI to support a thriving local news field. More about our partnership, how it will support local news nonprofits, and why now is the time to experiment with AI tools for local news: 🧵
🗞️ Lawrence Caswell + Mark Naymik are joining the Ohio Local News Initiative as managing editors of the Cleveland newsroom. Together, they'll help steward a vision to center community info needs. More on their roles + 10 open positions:
🎉Congratulations to
@oaklandside
for winning the 2020 Excellence in Journalism award from
@spj_tweets
NoCal!
The Oaklandside wins award for excellence in community journalism
We are thankful for
@knightfdn
's commitment to the American Journalism Project, which will provide transformative grants and support to local, nonprofit civic news organizations to ensure their long-term sustainability.
#lovelocalnews
NEWS: Knight is making a new, $300 million commitment to strengthen journalism, with a focus on building the future of local news, a cornerstone of democracy. We want you to join us. Learn more + get involved at
#lovelocalnews
Exciting updates today in nonprofit news: Free Press Indiana and Signal Ohio announced the launch of two new newsrooms serving Indianapolis and Akron. Be sure to follow
@mirrorindy
and
@SignalAkron
for more.
We're thrilled to share that
@indy_localnews
has hired
@oseyetboyd
as editor-in-chief for the Central Indiana newsroom! Boyd, an accomplished journalist with deep ties to communities in Indianapolis, will lead key hires and help drive this next stage.
Across the country, public media outlets are stepping in to fill holes left by shrinking metro dailies. A new study by
@TowCenter
explores how public media's growing strength is shaping local journalism.
Community listening is an essential step to ensuring local news accurately meets readers’ information needs. Here’s what we learned from surveying 5,000 people in eight communities across the country.
Founded by
@elizwgreen
and
@thorntonaustin
, we are the first venture philanthropy organization dedicated to strengthening an ecosystem of civic news organizations that believe local
#journalism
a public good.
In its first full year of operation,
@flatwaterfreep
is already gaining recognition for its work; the news organization was awarded Great Plains journalism awards in three categories.
Check out the winning stories below 🔽🧵
Led by a powerhouse team who wanted to start their own publication "dedicated to delivering hard news + investigative reporting aimed at a Black audience,"
@CapitalB
launches today! Congrats to
@laurenwilliams
,
@akoto_oa
+ the whole team (of 16!)!
We’re thrilled to introduce the four teams who will participate in the local news incubator, launched with support from
@GoogleNewsInit
. Representing regions across the country, these teams have compelling ideas for filling a local news gap in their communities. Learn more: 🧵🔽
Big News Day in Journalism!
We are excited about the announcement of Capital B (), a vital non profit news outlet founded by two Black journalists: the phenomenal
@KO_616
and
@laurenwilliams
. We are honored to support their vision
We’re excited to announce the Indiana Local News Initiative! This project, powered by a coalition of organizations based in Indiana, aims to ensure high quality local news is accessible to communities across the state. (🧵🔻)
🔊Announcing our newest board member,
@jelani9
! Jelani Cobb brings extensive journalism and education experience, and will help advance our vision for the future of nonprofit local news. Learn more about his work and what he’ll bring to our team.
Excited to announce that we're partnering w/
@HoustonEndowmnt
, Kinder Foundation +
@Arnold_Ventures
to launch a new independent newsroom in Houston that will serve as one of the largest nonprofit newsrooms in the country. Learn more:
#localnewsmatters
.
@BlockClubCHI
’s thorough coverage of the
#Chicago
mayoral race offered in-depth reporting on a historical local election at no cost to readers. More on its coverage and analysis of the mayoral + local ward races ⬇️
🚨 Time for
#JournalismJobs
+
#NonprofitJobs
updates! We’re hiring, and so are our grantees. Follow along here as we highlight some opportunities to work with us and our nonprofit local news partners. 🧵
NEW: Community engagement programs are a powerful tool for local orgs. Our new guide helps news organizations, place-based foundations + local leaders develop their own community ambassador programs to help rebuild
#localnews
.
@fionamorgan
shares more.
🎉The
@BorealisPhil
Racial Equity in Journalism Fund introduces its second cohort of grantees!
"These 28 incredible news organizations led by and serving people of color play a critical role informing + supporting full civic participation"
Excited to share that we're partnering with
@GoogleNewsInit
on the development of a new incubation program in support of new news startups across the U.S. Learn more:
We're
#hiring
and so are the local news nonprofits in our portfolio - both at the
#startup
and more established stages, and across departments, roles and cities! Check out all the
#JournalismJob
opportunities in our community on our website.
READ: “As local newspapers disappear, citizens increasingly rely on national sources of political info, which emphasizes competition and conflict between the parties. Local newspapers, by contrast, serve as a central source of shared info, setting a common agenda. “
@knightfdn
A wave of local, nonprofit news is on the rise, and could play a key role in fighting disinformation in the U.S.
At a speech yesterday to
@FSIStanford
,
@BarackObama
shared how this new journalism model could provide essential coverage in communities. 🧵
Very cool to hear former President
@BarackObama
cite the
@BaltimoreBanner
in a speech today as part of an encouraging trend of nonprofit newsrooms starting up across the country.
✴️If you read one thing today, read
@benyt
5 Pieces of Good News About the News. Congratulations to
@media_outlier
for being at the top of the list, and stay tuned for more news about our
#Wichita
collaboration!
🦁🏆 The 5th annual
#LIONAwards23
is officially underway! Stay tuned for real-time updates and announcements. We have 37 awards to give out tonight (and each one comes with at least $1,300 cash)!
Today, we welcomed over 150 people from the AJP community to our annual gathering: our grantees, staff, board, advisors, supporters and more. This year, we’re convening in Cleveland to share the important local news innovation happening in Cleveland and across the country.
Today the
@nytimes
shared a new way for its readers to find and support local news organizations, in partnership with
@INN
@LIONPubs
and others. It takes a movement to build the local news our democracy deserves, and this is a great step forward.
Tomorrow, we launch Mountain State Spotlight, a new public service newsroom for West Virginia. We're excited and we couldn't have done this without your support. Sign up for our newsletter to keep up with our stories:
.
@knightfdn
announces a $5M investment in Signal Akron, a new nonprofit news source in Ohio. We are thrilled to join the
#Akron
philanthropic community to improve local news in the city.
@SignalCleveland
#KMF23
📹We saw and applauded
@StormLakeMovie
. It is a wonderful "love letter to local journalism" that
@THR
calls"an elegiac heartland portrait...colored by the hope of endurance, both for the newspaper and the community it represents."
@cullen_art
@SLTimes
📰
@mirrorindy
, the newsroom backed by Free Press Indiana, launches with a 20-person staff serving Indianapolis with the community-centered local news residents say they want most. Learn more about the news organization, and the inspiration for its name.
.
@SignalCleveland
is making it easy for readers to stay updated on local government via
@cledocumenters
, providing short and easy-to-read briefs on local government meetings, written for residents, by residents.
“The Harris County District Clerk acknowledged that it uncovered about 100 appeals of criminal defendants who said they were unlawfully incarcerated.”
@Hou_Landing
has more on some of the defendants affected by this years long backlog.
We have some exciting news to share:
@JournalismProj
has received a $5M gift from Kathryn & James Murdoch’s Quadrivium in support of our work helping local nonprofit newsrooms build
#business
models that work.
#localnewsmatters
If you're a journalism professional or journalism-focused entrepreneur interested in launching a nonprofit local news outlet driven by community representation, we want to hear from you! Apply for our local news incubator by 2/15.
#JournalismJobs
#Startup
Congrats to one of the incredible newsrooms we have the honor to support! This is why we do it!
@vtdigger
!
#LIONAwards20
🏆Technology Innovation Award
🏆Best Visual Journalism Project (Large Newsroom)
🏆Best Business Idea
🏆Coronavirus Coverage of the Year (Large Newsroom)
The Indiana Local News Initiative is now Mirror Indy, a part of Free Press Indiana! Today's newsletter from editor-in-chief,
@oseyetboyd
, has more on the significance of of the names. Be sure to follow
@mirrorindy
for more updates on local news in the Hoosier state.
NEW: Our 2022 Impact Report is the first comprehensive look at the impact of our work since we made our first grants in December 2019. AJP’s
@SarabethBerman
shares more about the report and our findings. THREAD (1/5)
In
@CapitalBNews
' newsletter, reporter
@AdamLMahoney
highlights why representative journalism is essential to telling complete stories — in this case on critical issues like race and housing in Los Angeles.
Congratulations to
@aliciacbell
for becoming the new director of the Racial Equity in Journalism (REJ) Fund! Alicia will be helping to lead the next phase of REJ Fund’s amazing work investing in news orgs led by and for people of color.
#congratulations
#nonprofitnews
✨"People want the kind of news that affects their day to day lives and breaks down how larger issues impact communities and blocks around the city...that's why we have become the primary source of news for many of our readers."
@rhodes_dawn
@BlockClubCHI
#INNDays21
#LocalNews
How do you create news that works for your community?
Starting now, hear from innovative news leaders
@nissarhee
,
@rhodes_dawn
and Jim Malewitz, who are creating solutions and building a more equitable and sustainable future for news.
#INNDays21
It’s time for another
#jobs
roundup! We have opportunities here at AJP – and there’s still time to apply for our local news incubator. There are also great opportunities to work in our community. Follow along for more. 🧵🚨🔽
Congrats to
@propublica
,
@reveal
, and to all the local journalists who were named
#Pulitzer
winners and finalists. Your award-winning work covering local issues, exposing broken systems, and capturing unheard voices is vital to our democracy.
Congratulations to
@wendi_c_thomas
, this year’s winner of the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence! Wendi was honored for
@MLK50Memphis
’s work serving communities previously overlooked by mainstream news media.
AJP grantee,
@BlockClubCHI
received a grant from
@McCormick_Fdn
to build an investigative team as part of a larger effort to strengthen and scale impactful reporting in Chicago.
When a local newspaper closes, municipal borrowing costs increase by 5 to 11 basis points, costing the municipality an additional $650,000 per bond issue.
.
@MLK50Memphis
is one of many local newsrooms whose coverage exposed government mis-spending and got results for taxpayers.
@stevenwaldman
highlights how funding local news provides a return on investment – both financially and societally.
ICYMI:
@Report4America
announced that applications are now open for news organizations interested in partnering to host emerging + experienced journalists in their newsrooms for up to 3 years, beginning next summer. Learn more +sign up for an info session
✨"Americans will have to recognize that a news organization is like the local health care clinic or the local library...”
@Kenwardjr
@mtnstspotlight
Looking back at a day when small-town newspaper editors could be heroes
Congratulations to the
@MSTODAYnews
team on this well-deserved recognition! Here’s why we’re encouraged by seeing remarkable local reporting gain national recognition. 🧵🔽
.
@MSTodaynews
’ coverage of the Mississippi welfare scandal is a remarkable example of impactful local reporting.
@JournoResource
talked to
@ayewolfe
, the reporter who led the series & editor
@GanucheauAdam
about what journalists can learn from this story.
🚨 We're
#hiring
, and so are the local news organizations in our portfolio! Check out AJP's open roles + explore journalism, tech, development and more opportunities in our network.
#localnewsmatters
Your
@flatwaterfreep
weekend read: Seward County deputies routinely pull over I-80 drivers, seize cash but then never convict drivers of crimes.
Seward County, pop. 17,690, now accounts for 1/3 of all Nebraska cases of this type of civil asset forfeiture.
In the midst of this crisis, we wanted to share our gratitude for
@INN
and the resources and support they are providing — a lifeline to nonprofit newsrooms all over the U.S. It all starts with a question: "What help do you need right now?" 💪
A young man dies alone in a tent in Berkeley. The story could have ended there. But
@berkeleyside
's
@SupriyaYelimeli
made a point to find out more and to write about 28-year-old Kiovonni Laroyce Lyles. His life and his dreams. That's community journalism.
📑 The state of local news and why it matters🧾
We've rounded up the latest independent research on the local news industry, funding for local news, local news + democracy, and local news + community wellbeing. Check it out.
We're excited to share news of
@signalcleveland
's official launch! This new newsroom brings community building together with local news reporting to serve communities across the city. All content will be free and available across formats. Check it out.
This story from
@opencampusmedia
, in partnership with
@signalcleveland
, brings together important themes about education, representation and belonging in the dual settings of a majority Black city and predominately white institution. via
@amymorona
✨"Local journalism is a tool that enables people to take informed action. This bipartisan legislation will provide vital economic support to an industry our democracy requires,” said
@SarabethBerman
, CEO, American Journalism Project.
#LocalNewsMatters
BIG NEWS: Commerce Chair
@SenatorCantwell
, Finance Chair
@RonWyden
, and
@SenMarkKelly
introduce Local Journalism Sustainability Act to US Senate. Bill offers local news orgs support through tax credits to incentivize hiring, subscriptions and advertising.
✳️
@YawuMiller
and
@cm_martinez1
will build out a local news offering for communities of color in Greater Boston and across Massachusetts that covers issues including politics, public policy, community development, economic justice, criminal justice, race and social justice.
Protecting local news outlets preserves democracy by keeping communities informed and holding power to account. We can only perform this essential role if we protect journalism jobs. Include the
#LJSA
tax credit in the
#reconciliation
bill.
#SaveLocalNews
#SaveTheNews
Public service journalism has a home in
#Wichita
with the launch of
@wichitabeacon
! We're proud to be a part of your growth and can't wait to follow your progress!
#congratulations
The rise of "ghost newsrooms" has catalyzed local news startups to fill the void. We're proud to see our grantees,
@Hou_Landing
and
@elpasomatters
, featured in
@alexbruell
's story for
@WSJ
about local news meeting essential needs in communities.
When you find news that can't wait, you publish. So here's the first-ever story from our grantee
@mtnstspotlight
, by reporter
@ameliaknisely
in West Virginia
1/ Some West Virginia children are going hungry because of gaps in
@govjustice
's summer feeding program. Not all families can get to feeding sites, and schools don't have funding to pay for delivery.
@ameliaknisely
reports our first story: