InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/author/alice-dreger/)
So it came as a brutal disappointment to one publisher who discovered, minutes too late, that Press Forward apparently changed the deadline from Pacific to Eastern time.
I’m happy to report we’ve broken through to real communication with the folks at the Medill Local News map project, and they’re now taking our requests for corrections seriously.
This map is really a joke when major funders and investors may be relying on it to make important decisions about the future of local news and some outlets throw around the term “news desert” simply to get funding.
While many local news organizations are struggling financially to survive, some of the nonprofit and for-profit national corporations that provide support to them have done just fine, expanding their budgets and increasing their staffs.
If your for-profit or nonprofit local news organization has an annual budget of less than $1 million and reports for populations traditionally bypassed – or it’s based at an institution of higher learning– get ready.
Man, I love hanging with fellow journalists. They go right to the hard questions, right to the doubt, right to following the money.
While some see the call to create local news collaborations through Press Forward Local chapters as a real opportunity, few are happy to hear they won’t be seeing general operating support from Press Forward anytime soon, if ever.
Google, Rolli, Hacks/Hackers – these companies are spending millions to create artificial intelligence programs designed to write articles about local happenings.
I’ve now received at least thirty messages in response to my last Local News Blues post, “Big Philanthropy Is Infuriating Local News Publishers.”