Friend,

In our country, local journalism has been decimated. For millions of people, it simply doesn’t exist — and communities are suffering in the absence of essential local reporting.

Without local news, corruption increases, fewer people vote and people struggle to find information on critical services. In the age of disinformation and COVID-19, these can be life-threatening problems.

But now, thanks to support from people like you, Free Press Action has officially established a groundbreaking new model for sustainable local journalism in New Jersey — a model we hope to spread across the country.

This is how we did it in the Garden State:

• Organized for years with local activists, independent journalists and other community leaders throughout New Jersey.
• Brought together local groups and newsrooms to generate solutions to the local-news crisis and start new community-led media projects.
• With input from allies, conceived of the Civic Info Consortium, a first-of-its-kind nonprofit that’s investing public funding to strengthen local media.
• Mobilized thousands of New Jerseyans to pass landmark legislation creating the consortium and dedicating hundreds of thousands of state dollars to better inform local communities.
• Helped launch the consortium, which today announced $500,000 in statewide grants to innovative, community-rooted news projects that represent the state’s racial, ethnic and class diversity.

In short: Free Press Action and our allies have built a visionary new media infrastructure in New Jersey that will better inform communities across the state.

This bright spot comes at a dark time in local news. Large media conglomerates like Gannett and predatory hedge funds like Alden Global Capital have bought up local media and gutted their community reporting. That’s why building independent newsrooms and media organizations that are made up of people who live in the communities they are reporting on is critical.

And with the state of New Jersey funding the consortium, these new community-based newsrooms and media organizations will be able to withstand the economic forces that killed the old model for community reporting.

This truly has the potential to rebuild local journalism in the United States — which in turn can fight corruption, increase voter turnout and help make sure folks who need help have the critical local information they need to get it.

Please consider making a gift today to help Free Press Action’s News Voices team revitalize community reporting across the country.

Thank you for everything you do to support our movement for a just media system — one where all community members’ needs are served.

In solidarity,

Mike and the rest of the News Voices team
freepress.net

P.S. Free Press Action doesn’t accept a single dollar from business, government or political parties, because our independence is too important. This means that it truly is support from people like you that makes everything we do possible. Please consider making a donation today to help us revitalize local journalism, fight disinformation and hate, and more.