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The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation today announced $20 million to support newsrooms and provide journalism infrastructure as part of its commitment to revitalize local news.
MacArthur launched the Local News Program last year with a commitment of at least $150 million in new grantmaking to local news over five years, and the potential of $25 million in additional impact investments. This latest round of grants brings the total committed to date to more than $90 million.
The Local News Program provides pooled and aligned grantmaking to support Press Forward, a national initiative led by MacArthur to strengthen communities and democracy by supporting local news and information. This round of grants includes an additional $1 million to the pooled fund after an initial contribution of $32.5 million last year. An additional $3.3 million will go to the Chicago Community Trust to support local news in MacArthur’s headquarters city through Press Forward Chicago, one of 31 local Press Forward Local Chapters launched over the past year.
“Our grantmaking supports a range of organizations working to strengthen nascent and emerging local news ecosystems and their leaders, who innovate in these spaces, with tools, resources, and funding. This includes a cohort of newsrooms pioneering new paths,” said Silvia Rivera, MacArthur’s director of local news. “These investments are part of a collective effort to ensure that local communities have steady access to reliable and trustworthy information.”
This round of grants, which will provide general operations and flexible support for infrastructure and shared services, along with direct support for local newsrooms, is going to:
Newsrooms
Amsterdam News Educational Foundation will