Press Forward boosts local news with $20 million grant program

Press Forward a journalism funding group‚ has revealed its giving $20 million in grants to 205 small local news outlets across the country. This amount is roughly double what they first planned when looking for applicants

The group looked through about 930 applications before deciding on its grants. Press Forward said 40% of the new grantees are organizations led by people of color‚ and a quarter are serving rural communities Most outlets are getting $100000 in general operating funds

These grants are significant for organizations like Black Iowa News‚ which started during COVID to give news about the pandemic; the Nome Nugget‚ a newspaper that covers a large area of western Alaska; and Radio Indigena‚ which tries to connect Californias migrant communities with newscasts in Indigenous languages

Press Forward doubled its original funding plans because “we felt that the need was now“ said Dale Anglin‚ president of Press Forward‚ which raises money and awareness of struggling local news outlets. Outlets with yearly budgets of less than $1 million could apply

Anglin pointed out: “I think the public only sees the big journalism leaders like The New York Times and Associated Press. We forget that small is important small still exists‚ even if some of them are hanging on by a thread“

In the past 20-or-so years‚ thousands of local news outlets across the country have either closed or cut down staff due to money problems‚ and philanthropies are trying to help

This initiative highlights the ongoing challenges faced by small news organizations and the efforts to support local journalism in an era of financial strain and media consolidation