January 19, 2022
In 2020, two dozen Atlanta journalists gathered to take a hard look at the state of local media in Atlanta. A lack of diversity and…
Ideas
Explore insights, lessons, and resources from our work
Democracy Fund staff — alongside grantees, researchers, and other field experts — regularly develops resources and shares lessons on strengthening democracy. Here you will find guides, reports, and insights from our team and network.
November 16, 2021
First the good news: Philanthropy is starting to respond to the demise of local journalism with the urgency it deserves. In the past few years,…
March 3, 2021
The new report "Healthy Local News & Information Ecosystems: A Diagnostic Framework,” presents a framework to help local news funders assess whether a community’s information…
December 16, 2020
When you look back at how local news fared in 2020, you might be surprised by how hopeful I am for the future. Things have…
December 4, 2020
News is a public good. What does it mean to treat journalism as a public good? Without an informed citizenry able to access the news…
June 3, 2020
Results from the 2019 NewsMatch cycle, published for the first time today, show that it was the most successful to date, with an initial pool…
April 27, 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has shaken much more than the ground beneath us: it has rocked every aspect of our society. This norm-shattering situation has shown…
April 15, 2020
This post was co-authored by Christine Schmidt. Over the past month, 30 states have made journalism an essential service in their disaster declarations, putting local…
April 13, 2020
As businesses close, revenue from advertising is drying up and journalists are facing layoffs, furloughs, and the possibility of their newsrooms closing down—just when we…
November 5, 2019
Asking Questions and Listening are the First Step By Teresa Gorman and Fiona Morgan How do people in your community get news and information about…
November 5, 2019
A step-by-step toolkit to help you gather the information you need to fund local news and information in your community.
May 14, 2019
There are almost-weekly reminders about the struggles facing local news. Last week the entire staff of the New Orleans Times-Picayune were laid off when the…
February 12, 2019
WASHINGTON – NewsMatch raised $7.6 million from individual donors and a coalition of major funders for nonprofit news organizations in two months at the end…
February 12, 2019
The last month has been a difficult one for journalism in America. In a span of just two weeks roughly 2,000 journalists have lost their…
August 1, 2018
How can we help local news survive, transform, and thrive? This question will not be answered by one person, one organization, or one innovation. Instead,…
June 27, 2018
As trusted information providers, local and nonprofit journalism organizations play an essential role in providing news that communities rely on to stay informed, make decisions…
February 14, 2018
We launched NewsMatch — a $3 million fund to match donations to nonprofit newsrooms — because we believe that strengthening local and investigative journalism is…
February 7, 2018
Josh Stearns co-authored this piece with Teresa Gorman. Local news is critical to a healthy democracy, and we believe that the future of local news…
December 5, 2017
Democracy Fund’s Public Square Program defines a local news ecosystem as the network of institutions, collaborations, and people that local communities rely on for news,…
November 20, 2017
News Match is already the largest grassroots fundraising campaign for nonprofit journalism ever. More than 100 newsrooms across the United States are working together to…