It’s time to make the emerging local news ecosystem work for everyone
If you’re running a small local news outlet right now, it can feel like help is everywhere — and nowhere at once.
Over the past decade, the network of organizations designed to support local journalism has exploded. Funders have mobilized. Intermediaries have emerged to train, mentor and regrant. Consultants now specialize in everything from audience development to business modeling.
This growth signals progress. It reflects philanthropy’s long-overdue recognition that local journalism is vital civic infrastructure. But for many small and startup outlets — especially those serving communities of color, immigrants and rural regions — this new ecosystem can feel less like a support system and more like a maze.
The irony is painful: Even as the field of “journalism support organizations” grows more sophisticated, many of the outlets it serves are barely surviving.
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