The Media Resilience Network (MDRNet) is a newly launched initiative from Vita Activa designed to provide free, confidential mental health and peer support to journalists, especially those from underrepresented communities and newsrooms under strain. Offering one-on-one peer support, culturally attuned coaching and counseling, crisis and harm reduction services, and tailored “Task Force” assistance for local newsrooms, MDRNet (nicknamed “MotherNet”) aims … Read More
Impact snapshot from a Press Forward grantee newsroom Who: Deirdre Conner, publisher and CEO of The Florida Trib Where: Based in Jacksonville, but covering the entire state of Florida, thanks to recent expansion. What: The Florida Trib, formerly known as The Tributary, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom founded in 2021 to fill critical news and information gaps in collaboration with … Read More
Case Study: Media Resilience Fund Increasing access to capital for community media enterprises. Partners: URL Media, National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), Rebuild Local News With special thanks to Andrew Nachison, a foundational advisor and early catalyst for the Media Resilience Fund. If you are a publisher interested in accessing the Media Resilience Fund please contact Garry Pierre-Pierre, Director of Partnerships … Read More
Case Study: Glen Nelson Center Investing in early-stage startups to drive public media innovation. Host Organization: American Public Media Group Context / Starting Conditions Glen Nelson Center was established by American Public Media Group (APMG) to formalize and scale the organization’s long-standing entrepreneurial culture and to support and scale innovation at APMG and throughout public media. Innovation at APMG had … Read More
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 … Read More
When Tracy Baim first began talking with funders about support for immigration coverage in Chicago, she had no way of knowing how quickly the need would become urgent. After starting her role as executive director of Press Forward Chicago in January 2025, Baim began conversations with the Walder Foundation and the Joyce Foundation about expanding support for immigration reporting. She … Read More
Impact snapshot from a Press Forward grantee newsroom By Mark Glaser Who: Henok Mengistu, founder and publisher of Ethiopique Where: The “DMV”: Washington, D.C. metro area with Maryland and Virginia What: Ethiopique is the only Amharic-language local news and community platform in the U.S., reaching more than 100,000 Ethiopian and Eritrean people in the District of Columbia region. The site … Read More
