Open letter to Press Forward: Journalism affinity groups call for equitable distribution of funds

For those of us who work in journalism, there is not a day that passes that we don’t see vividly how newsrooms are shrinking and how local news deserts are negatively impacting people.

So when a group of foundation leaders and heads of philanthropic organizations announced the Press Forward initiative to raise hundreds of millions of dollars to support local news, those of us who work in the field didn’t hesitate to applaud. After all, we need many more funders to understand that local news is vital to the health and sustainability of our democracy. A growing number of people are vulnerable to becoming victims of disinformation and misinformation masquerading as credible local and national news.

As the much-anticipated initiative to fortify local news ecosystems rolls out, we think it’s important to remember just what is “local news” and who are the people who have long been providing it.

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