Press Forward Announces Network of Local Chapters, Starting with Alaska

November 3, 2023 – A growing coalition of funders today announced the next phase of their plan to strengthen local news at an unprecedented level: Press Forward Locals. A network of local chapters across the country—starting in Alaska; Chicago; Minnesota; Philadelphia; Springfield, Illinois; and Wichita—are springing up as funders are coordinating or collaborating across states and regions to bring new donors and foundations together to expand resources for local news.

Press Forward Alaska will be led by the Atwood Foundation in cooperation with the Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism, a project fund of the Alaska Community Foundation.

Trust begins close to home

As local newsrooms have disappeared across America, communities have witnessed fading civic engagement, eroding social bonds, surging misinformation, and dwindling governmental accountability. Over the last decade, news organization founders and funders have stepped up to build and invest in emerging ecosystems across the country.

Press Forward Local chapters are an opportunity for funders to create place-based initiatives for local news, driven by the specific needs of their communities.

“Of Alaska’s 351 towns and villages, over 300 are isolated: not connected to any road system,” said Ira Perman, executive director of the Atwood Foundation. “Reporting the news, particularly local news, is an immense and ongoing challenge.”

In September, a coalition of funders announced Press Forward, a national initiative to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information with an infusion of more than a half-billion dollars over the next five years. Press Forward partners committed to re-center local news as a force for community cohesion; support new models and solutions that are ready to scale; and close longstanding inequities in journalism coverage and practice. 

While each community is different, Press Forward has identified three types of local ecosystems. This could mean building on existing proven models where local funds have been started or supporting the start-up of new funds.

“The Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism was founded to bring high-quality, in-depth reporting to Alaskans in all communities,” said ACEJ’s board chair Lori Townsend. “We’re learning what newsrooms need, providing local journalists with training and growth opportunities, and funding reporting projects that local outlets couldn’t afford to produce without help. This partnership will help increase our capacity to help journalists report time-intensive, important stories for their communities.”

All Press Forward Local Funders have committed to:

• Support local journalism beyond existing funding

• Bring new donors to the local effort

• Establish or support pooled funds or funding collaborations that build common purpose and strengthen the local news ecosystem

• Convene local stakeholders and advance mutual understanding and analysis of the local information ecosystem

• Track and report funding and metrics to Press Forward

• Share models, tools, and lessons learned with other Press Forward Locals

Read the full announcement of Press Forward Locals chapters here.