News & ResourcesResource Library

Meeting the Revenue Challenge – Philanthropy’s Role in Local News Growth

This new report from the Wyncote Foundation identifies trends in revenue growth and sustainability across 17 local news organizations. Drawing on interviews with newsroom leaders and founders, alongside analysis of publicly available financial data of leading nonprofit newsrooms over time, the report maps the current landscape of revenue streams in local news and identifies implications for philanthropic funders.

Among its initial observations, the report notes that philanthropy is now often the primary source of revenue for newer, digital-native news organizations, and is likely to remain essential for local news startups as they mature. For the purposes of this report, philanthropy encompasses grants from major national foundations as well as local funding from organizations and individuals.

The report also observes that many local news organizations are struggling to allocate the resources needed to build a robust internal infrastructure with specialized staff working to optimize income across revenue streams.

Principal Findings:

  1. Journalist-founders often needed time to see their news organizations as small businesses and to invest accordingly.
  2. Leaders of local, general-audience news organizations see building a diversified revenue mix as essential to long-term sustainability.
  3. Some organizations expanded their revenue-generating capacity after receiving large-scale, multiyear catalytic investments; others grew incrementally and organically; and some experienced both types of growth.
  4. Alongside expansion of local earned revenue, publishers made significant strides in securing continued local philanthropic support. Though many felt less reliant on national foundation funding over time, many believed local philanthropy would remain a significant part of their organizations’ financial stability and growth.

Implications for Investment Across the Field:

  1. Individual newsrooms and their supporters need to invest in the staff and strategies that support the acquisition of both philanthropic and earned revenue. National and local funders need to recognize that their funding priorities can either encourage or discourage these investments in business and revenue development.
    Local news as a field cannot successfully scale without business investment to grow audience and revenue.
  2. The acceleration of investment in business success, and ongoing debates about field consolidation, highlight the immense variation in the local news landscape and the critical factor of equity.

The report concludes with two immediate needs: 

  1. Developing field-level strategies about how best to accelerate progress toward sustainability
  2. Urgently addressing the situation at scale

Use This Guide to:

  1. Understand the different revenue streams that local news outlets rely on and the implications of the sustainability practices required for each.
  2. Confront evidence that illustrates the role of philanthropy on the road to sustainability for the local news sector.
  3. Reflect and begin to strategize on your local news portfolio and how business sustainability is incentivized in your grantmaking.

Suggested Content:

Featured Members: 

Source: Wyncote Foundation

Issue Areas:
Type:
Media: