Press Forward, Knight, MacArthur invest in Rebuild Local News, ground-level public policy

This article originally appeared in a News@Knight Newsletter. Subscribe here.

The real action of public policy is happening on the ground—in cities and states across the country that increasingly recognize the value of local news as a public good. They have led the way with initiatives like employment tax credits (New York, Illinois), funding for fellowship programs (New Mexico, California, Washington state, Illinois) and requirements for government advertising to support community and ethnic media (New York City, Chicago, San Francisco).

Accelerating this local momentum is why Press Forward recently announced $3.45 million in funding to support public policy in five state initiatives, along with funding grassroots efforts from key players in Rebuild Local News and Free Press to provide tools and resources to 36+ local chapters of Press Forward as they convene stakeholders and advance policies to support the newsrooms in their communities. Knight and MacArthur Foundation added to Press Forward’s investment in Rebuild Local News, for a total of $5.25 million in grants over three years. All this adds up to one of the largest investments ever made to advance public policy for local news.

So what does public policy look like in action? Let’s look at two key initiatives that are supporting rural, urban and suburban communities.

Government advertising: Modeled on an innovative program in New York City, states and cities can require that local ad spending go to smaller community and ethnic news organizations. Here’s how these programs help newsrooms and small businesses:

In Henrico, Va., the Henrico Citizen and Henrico County Economic Development Authority partnered to launch the Henrico Small Business Boost program in 2023. It provided subsidized, three-month advertising campaigns across the paper’s print, newsletter, digital, social and audio products for 20 small businesses. The Citizen launched a second round of the program last year, doubling grants to $80,000 for 40 small businesses.

San Francisco has developed and maintained a similar program. In FY 2022–23, the city spent $126,527 on advertising in community and ethnic media, recently expanding the effort as it spent thousands more on smaller media during a campaign around food waste. Maya Chupkov of California Common Cause recently organized a convening at San Francisco City Hall to discuss the advertising program. Chupkov said the program has progressed as more city departments get on board, showing a willingness to spend marketing budgets on small newsrooms.

Local fellowship programs: In these programs, a state typically funds a journalism school to run a fellowship program that pays the salary of reporters to work in newsrooms for a year or more. The programs are designed to create a pipeline for young reporters and boost reporting in underserved communities. Here’s how they have had an impact in three states:

California Local News Fellow Anthony Victoria (pictured up at the top) is an audio reporter for KVCR, an NPR affiliate in Southern California’s Inland Empire. He has helped his newsroom report on the wellbeing of immigrant communities in the wake of sometimes violent and unprecedented federal policies. One story in particular found that people from local agencies were being misidentified as immigration officers.
New Mexico Local News Fellow Kylie Garcia covered arts and culture for the Santa Fe New Mexican, writing more than 200 stories, and is now a reporter for the Albuquerque Journal. Her editor, Carolyn Graham, said the program “provided our publication with a person with a fresh perspective on the world and technology that opened all our eyes…We also opened her eyes to the importance of creativity and innovation.”
Murrow News Fellow Monica Carillo-Casas has been producing stories for Spokane Public Radio and the Spokesman Review in English and Spanish. “We all bring something unique and we are able to produce so many stories that have helped bridge the gap between media and communities,” she said in a video about the program. Three Murrow fellows have been covering the Washington state legislative session as well, and all coverage from fellows are free to publish for any news outlet.

What’s striking about these impacts is that they are being made around the country, in liberal, moderate and conservative areas. In many cases, these public policies were supported by both Democrats and Republicans, who understand what communities lose when they don’t have local reporting. We believe this unprecedented—and increasing—funding for public policy that supports local news will replicate these positive impacts in even more communities.

Written by Duc Luu, with Mark Glaser

Edited by Atena Sherry and Kara Pickman