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Press Forward, the $500 million movement to reimagine local news, will launch applications on April 30 for its first open call for funding focused on addressing the long-standing inequalities in journalistic coverage of underserved communities.
Local news outlets that fill coverage gaps with original reporting — and have a budget under $1 million — will be eligible to apply for Press Forward funding. The Press Forward Open Call on Closing Local Coverage Gaps will provide 100-plus news outlets with an expected $100,000 each in funding, whether they are nonprofit or for-profit entities. The funding will be unrestricted, general operating support, allowing the news organizations to spend it as needed to sustain and grow their operations.
Applications will be available April 30 – June 12 at pressforward.news.
Dale R. Anglin, Press Forward director, said: “Strong local journalism means that more people have the power to hold their leaders accountable, to make the important choices about their daily lives, and to keep our communities strong. However, for too long, underserved communities have not been included in those narratives, the truth of their lived experiences not reflected, to the detriment of our democracy. We’re looking for outlets that are filling these important gaps, in rural and urban communities across the country.”
For this open call, Press Forward said it is prioritizing organizations that are “producing and delivering news and information to underserved audiences such as communities of color, linguistically diverse communities, low-wealth rural communities, and others not adequately served, reached or represented.”
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