By Christina Shih

When we launched Press Forward, we believed the strongest path forward for local news had to start locally. That belief now spans 41 Press Forward Locals across 31 states — chapters bringing together funders and partners to support news and information in the places they call home.

What’s emerging is more than growth. These chapters are taking action in ways that reflect their local realities and are becoming essential connectors in their communities, particularly in challenging moments. Each week, I hear stories of chapters mobilizing resources, convening unlikely partners, and stepping in during moments of real urgency for the people they serve.

Press Forward Chicago grant recipients gather for a Peer Learning Community training led by Becky Vevea of Chalkbeat Chicago and CJ Ortuño of Borderless Magazine. Photo by Hannah Carroll

With such a wide range of places and approaches, it’s hard to capture everything Press Forward Locals are accomplishing. But four core themes have emerged that provide a snapshot. Our chapters work by:

• Providing funding: Locals mobilize funding for the news — including in Chicago, where funders came together to expand reporting on immigration as federal raids began, and in Minnesota where the chapter just invested $1 million in newsroom-community partnerships.
• Advocating: Locals champion the value of local news with funders, policymakers, and the public. In Pittsburgh, as the daily newspaper announced its closure recently, our local chapter brought together leaders and residents about how to best sustain local news longterm.
• Fostering collaboration: Chapters bring people together to achieve greater collective impact. Seven chapters, for example, are working with their local public media stations in the wake of federal cuts to find a way forward.
• Building capacity: Chapters create access to training, shared services, and learning that help local news organizations grow and adapt, like in Wichita, where the chapter has paired newsrooms with national organizations for vital coaching.

You can take a deeper dive into these themes on our website, or read more about how Press Forward Chicago demonstrates what’s possible by working across all four areas.

These themes reflect a broader shift across the field. As Press Forward Executive Director Dale Anglin recently wrote in Nieman Lab, the future of local news won’t be defined by a single savior or silver bullet. Sustainability will come from local networks — people and institutions working together to keep information, accountability, and trust close to the ground. Communities aren’t waiting to be rescued; they’re building what they need.

As we look ahead, these local efforts will continue to guide our strategy. This is the next era of local news: built together, rooted in communities, and sustained through networks that understand reliable information is a shared responsibility.

Christina Shih is Press Forward’s associate director. Learn more about our local chapters.