How Funding Local News Ecosystems Helps American Communities Thrive

This report reflects on Democracy Fund’s investment of $11 million made over the course of five years to six local news ecosystems across the country. Starting with a deep dive into the Fund’s local news ecosystem strategy, readers will learn how to prop up a healthy news ecosystem and the proven benefits to a community with the existence of a working one. For the best results, the report calls for funders to: 1) Give more, distributedly more equitably, 2) Engage in more collaborative problem solving, and 3) Call for the field to have a shared vision and tools for impact.

To illustrate these theories in action, the report includes six grantee case studies in New Jersey, Colorado, North Carolina, New Mexico, Chicago and Oklahoma. Each case study is a transparent look at the investment, timeline and outcomes.

Use This Guide To:

1. Learn about local news ecosystems and how to seed healthy ones in your region.
2. Review well-researched case studies from recent grants in the field.
3. Think about what kinds of non-traditional media grants you might make to bolster your news ecosystem.

Suggested Content:

1. A Guide to Assessing Your Local News Ecosystem
2. State of Local News
3. Funding the News: Foundations and Nonprofit Media

Featured Members: 

• Democracy Fund
• Report Local
• American Journalism Project

Source: Democracy Fund