About
Source: Website
Local journalism is a public good.
The American Journalism Project is the first-ever venture philanthropy dedicated to nonprofit local news.
Values
Local first
We know that local journalism must serve and be led by local communities. We make a practice of listening to, and making decisions with — not for — those communities, and connecting them to find strength in each other.Bold leadership
We understand the severe economic challenge facing local news and thus democracy, and we embrace a sense of possibility with courage, urgency, and perseverance.Constant learning
We recognize the unknown in front of us. Therefore, we operate with humility and a commitment to continuous improvement and collaboration.Commitment to equity
We commit to creating a better, more diverse, and more inclusive news media that advances human and civil rights. We actively fight against injustice and racism, and that starts with doing the work ourselves.Integrity
We accept the responsibility of earning trust every day. We operate with honesty, transparency, dignity, and respect, and without allegiance to party, ideology, profit, or power.
Our people
We were founded in 2019 by John Thornton and Elizabeth Green, two pioneers in the field of mission-driven local nonprofit news.
Today, our organization is led by an experienced team that shares an ambitious vision for sustainable local news. Our team brings expertise in grantmaking, fundraising, movement building and organizational growth; we are designing and delivering best-in-class support to our grantees.
Why Local News
We need local news
- Local news is our most trusted source for information about the world around us. It provides a shared understanding of what’s happening in our city halls, schools, and businesses.
- Local news connects us to our community and to our neighbors. It uplifts voices that would otherwise go unheard.
- Local news demands accountability of community, business, and governmental bodies. It forces decision-making structures to operate within the public’s view.
- Local news lends us agency, empowering us with the knowledge we need to make informed decisions about issues critical to our daily lives.
But local news is disappearing
- 3,500 newspapers have closed since 2005
- 1,525 counties have only one remaining local news outlet
- 75% of newspaper jobs that existed in 2005 have been lost
- From 2000 to 2018, weekday newspaper circulation fell from 55.8 million households to an estimated 28.6 million.
- From 2000 to 2020, the newspaper industry’s advertising revenue fell by an estimated 80%.
Broken models
For the last 150 years we’ve relied on ad revenue, a market transaction, to support a public good. Advertising once accounted for 80% of newspapers’ revenue. In the past 20 years, that revenue stream has fallen by 80%. The economics that supported the news industry for most of the twentieth century are no longer viable. Of the commercial newspapers that still exist, most have been forced by revenue losses to cut resources so dramatically that they struggle to provide any civic value to communities.
Ghost newspapers
More than half of those remaining newspapers are owned by financial institutions whose cost-cutting strategies have stripped newsrooms of the resources necessary to produce consistent, original reporting on basic information. People who live in communities that still have a local newspaper may also effectively be living in news deserts.
The rise of misinformation
In the absence of trusted news sources, we see targeted disinformation campaigns, including efforts to spread misinformation through social networks and websites masquerading as news brands.
Dependency on national news sources that are removed from everyday life
Without a trusted local alternative, individuals have no choice but to turn to the echo chamber of national news outlets and social media for information. Local stories, when they are told by these institutions, become cherry-picked anecdotes that build on national tensions. They’re used to engage a national audience rather than to inform a local one.
The loss of local news is a national crisis, with devastating effects on civic life.
The path forward
This moment requires decisive action. We believe every community deserves access to high-quality local news that is governed by, sustained by, and looks like the public it serves.
Nonprofit local news can inform the country. We have a plan to make that happen.
Why nonprofit news?
Nonprofit news is purpose-driven and connected to the community it serves.
By aligning business incentives with their core mission, nonprofit news organizations are able to focus on producing the type of accountability journalism, public-service coverage, and watchdog reporting that builds trust and prioritizes impact over page views.
Nonprofit news is transparent and accountable.
To be sustainable, nonprofit news organizations must hold themselves accountable to their readers, just as they hold local leaders accountable to the people who elected them. Their financing structures reinforce a core tenet of journalistic integrity — that newsrooms operate in service of the communities they inform with editorial independence.
Nonprofit news is entrepreneurial, nimble, and resilient.
Nonprofit news organizations are experimenting with sustainable, scalable business models that support local journalism that strengthens communities.
Nonprofit doesn’t mean noncommercial.
Nonprofit news organizations are raising philanthropic capital as one pillar of a robust and diversified revenue strategy that includes advertising, sponsorship, events, and memberships.
For more on the state of local news and why it matters, see this collection of industry research.
Source: Website
What We Do
We’re building a future for local news
We make grants to nonprofit news organizations, partner with communities to launch new organizations, and coach leaders as they grow and sustain their newsrooms. Read more about our programs below.
Our work
Invest in sustainable growth of existing organizations
We seek out bold leaders who share our belief that local news is a public good and are building local news organizations positioned for growth.
Learn more about becoming a grantee
Position grantees for success
We pair financial investment with capacity-building venture support.
Learn more about our support strategy
Partner with local philanthropy
We are working with local philanthropy to identify and address information gaps in their communities.
Learn more about our local partnerships
Launch startup organizations
We help build new newsrooms from the ground up.
Learn more about our startup studio
Incubate strong teams
We provide seed capital and coaching to founders to help them launch local news nonprofits that serve their communities.
Learn more about our local news incubator
Explore the use of smart technology in local news
We launched the Product & AI Studio, which is exploring the smart application of AI and other technology within local news.
Learn more about the Product & AI Studio
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