Press Forward

Last updated
Press Forward
FormationSeptember 2023
PurposePhilanthropy
Headquarters Miami, FL
Director
 Dale Anglin
Website pressforward.news

Press Forward is a philanthropic coalition of over 20 funders seeking to invest over half a billion dollars into local journalism in the United States over the course of five years. It was announced by the MacArthur Foundation in 2023 with grant disbursements planned starting in 2024. [1] As of March 2024, Press Forward has been directed by Dale Anglin. [2]

Contents

Press Forward's four priorities are bolstering local newsrooms, increasing news production and dissemination, addressing inequalities in journalism, and expanding local news through public policy. [3] Since its creation, Press Forward has raised more than half a billion dollars, started over 20 regional Press Forward chapters, and funded hundreds of local news organizations. [4]

History

2023

In September, Press Forward was announced by the MacArthur Foundation as an initiative to disburse over half a billion dollars, over the course of five years, to support local journalism in the United States. [5] Over twenty organizations, such as the Knight Foundation and the Ford Foundation, were named as participants. [3]

In November, Press Forward announced Press Forward Locals, or regional chapters of Press Forward across the country. Many chapters would be led by existing organizations in their area. [6]

In December, the MacArthur Foundation provided $48 million in grants to support Press Forward. It also launched the Local News Program to reshape its grantmaking strategy in line with Press Forward by providing grants directly to local news organizations. [7]

2024

In February, Dale R. Anglin was announced as the inaugural director of the $500 million Press Forward initiative. [8] She began her duties on March 11 of that year. [9]

In April, Press Forward announced its first-ever open call for funding with a specific focus on providing funds to local newsrooms in underserved communities. [10]

Press Forward funders at the 2025 Knight Media Forum Press Forward funders at 2025 Knight Media Forum.jpg
Press Forward funders at the 2025 Knight Media Forum

In July, the Knight Foundation pledged $7 million, toward the Press Forward initiative, to bolster local news in swing states due to concerns about the lack of access to quality information during election cycles. [11]

In October, Press Forward announced that 205 local news organizations would receive a share of $20 million, roughly around $100,000 per recipient. [12] Recipients included Alaska News Coalition, [13] Black Voice News , [14] Grice Connect, [15] MediaLab@FAU, [16] Mshale, [17] The Mesquite at Texas A&M University–San Antonio, [18] QCity Metro, [19] among others. At least one organization in each state, and two U.S. territories, was awarded. [20] The same month, the Knight Foundation pledged $15 million in eight cities. [21]

In December, the MacArthur Foundation committed another $20 million, through its Local News Program, to further support Press Forward initiatives. [22]

Critical reception

Immediately after the announcement of Press Forward, over 120 public media organizations endorsed a paper calling upon public media to be included in its funding decisions. [23]

Similarly, the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education published an open letter demanding that Press Forward specifically support underrepresented voices in local news. [24] [25] Many organizations signed the letter including the National Association of Black Journalists, the Asian American Journalists Association, the Indigenous Journalists Association, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Online News Association, and OpenNews, among others. [26] [27] Black-led news organizations, in particular, demanded "structural change" rather than "lip service," as well as even more money raised to support local newsrooms. [28] In November of 2023, a webinar was hosted by the Maynard Institute for Journalism and Education and Borealis Philanthropy to allow journalists of color to speak with leaders involved in Press Forward such as MacArthur Foundation president John Palfrey. [29]

Controversies

Following its first open call, Press Forward funded St. Louis Argus , a local publication that had historically stolen reportage from other news outlets in St. Louis. [30] Press Forward then put a "pause" on its $100,000 grant to the newspaper in order to investigate allegations of plagiarism. [31]

Partners

References

  1. ↑ Robertson, Katie (2023-09-07). "Philanthropies Pledge $500 Million to Address Crisis in Local News". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  2. ↑ Anglin, Dale R. (2024-04-30). "Press Forward open call puts underrepresented communities first". Poynter. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Fischer, Sara (2023-09-07). "New group launches with over $500M committed to saving local news". Axios. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  4. ↑ "Sustaining Local News: Building a strong foundation for funders". Knight Foundation. Archived from the original on 2025-01-16. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  5. ↑ "Press Forward Will Award More Than $500 Million to Revitalize Local News". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  6. ↑ "Press Forward Announces Network of Local Chapters". www.macfound.org. Archived from the original on 2025-03-06. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  7. ↑ "$48 Million in Support of Local News, Initial Seeding of Press Forward Collaborative". www.macfound.org. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  8. ↑ "Press Forward's new director, plus a newspaper hero | Brier Dudley". The Seattle Times. 2024-02-14. Archived from the original on 2024-04-08. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  9. ↑ "Press Forward Taps First Director to Guide $500 Million in Local-News Grant Making". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  10. ↑ Hare, Kristen (2024-04-22). "Press Forward's first open call for funding focuses on historic inequalities". Poynter. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  11. ↑ "Knight Foundation launches new initiative to fortify election integrity". Knight Foundation. Archived from the original on 2025-03-01. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  12. ↑ Merid, Feven. "Press Forward announces first round of funding for local news". Columbia Journalism Review. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  13. ↑ "Seven Alaska News Organizations Receive Funding from Press Forward". Alaska Business Magazine. 2024-10-21. Archived from the original on 2025-02-06. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  14. ↑ Perrault, Ellen (2024-10-17). "Black Voice News Awarded Press Forward Grant to Support Local Journalism". Black Voice News. Archived from the original on 2024-11-07. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  15. ↑ "BIG NEWS | Grice Connect receives $100,000 grant from Press Forward". Grice Connect. 2024-10-17. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  16. ↑ "MediaLab@FAU Receives $100,000 Grant". www.fau.edu. Archived from the original on 2025-03-31. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  17. ↑ Okong'o, Edwin (2025-01-23). "Mshale awarded Press Forward Minnesota grant to boost coverage of African community". Mshale. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  18. ↑ Windes, Isaac (2024-10-24). "The Mesquite at TAMUSA secures $50K Press Forward grant". San Antonio Report. Archived from the original on 2024-11-02. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  19. ↑ "QCity Metro receives $100,000 Press Forward grant". QCity Metro. 2024-10-20. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  20. ↑ Hare, Kristen (2024-10-16). "Press Forward announces $20 million to 205 local newsrooms". Poynter. Archived from the original on 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  21. ↑ "New Press Forward Local Chapters in Knight Communities". Knight Foundation. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  22. ↑ "$20 Million in Support of Local News". www.macfound.org. Archived from the original on 2025-02-17. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  23. ↑ Janssen, Mike (2023-09-14). "Paper argues for including public media in foundation support". Current. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  24. ↑ "Open Letter to Press Forward: Journalism Affinity Groups Call for Equitable Distribution of Funds". Maynard Institute (MIJE). 2023-09-19. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  25. ↑ "Journalists of Color Worry an Effort to Boost Local News Outlets Will Leave Them Behind". The Chronicle of Philanthropy. 2023-09-20. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  26. ↑ "Journalism groups ask Press Forward to distribute funding equitably". Hacks/Hackers. 2023-09-21. Archived from the original on 2025-02-15. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  27. ↑ Vincent, Subramaniam. "What The $500 Million Fix For Local News Says About Trust And Impact". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  28. ↑ "Press Forward must prove itself to the Black press". Nieman Lab. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  29. ↑ "Redressing the History of Racism in the Debate About Journalism's Future". Better to Speak. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  30. ↑ Fenske, Sarah (2024-10-22). "St. Louis Argus gets $100K grant after helping itself to others' work". www.stlmag.com. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  31. ↑ Fenske, Sarah (2024-10-24). "Press Forward presses pause on St. Louis Argus grant". www.stlmag.com. Archived from the original on 2025-03-18. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  32. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Hare, Kristen (2023-11-29). "What's Press Forward? Here's your primer". Poynter. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  33. ↑ "Funding Journalism for a Stronger Democracy | Carnegie Reporter Summer 2024 | Carnegie Corporation of New York". Carnegie Corporation of New York. Archived from the original on 2024-07-18. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  34. ↑ "$20 Million in Support of Local News". www.macfound.org. Archived from the original on 2025-02-17. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
  35. ↑ "Steinman Institute joins 'Press Forward' initiative". One United Lancaster. 2024-12-09. Archived from the original on 2025-01-13. Retrieved 2025-02-28.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.