Action
The Civic Information Index wasn’t built to admire problems. It’s a tool for action. Across the U.S., newsrooms, civic and media innovators, funders, universities, community organizations and local governments use the Index in their work. They rely on it as they build investment strategies, identify underserved communities and neighborhoods, better understand rural residents, discover opportunities for civic engagement, develop training programs, and strengthen local news and information ecosystems. Explore our latest case studies below.
Case studies
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How NFCB is Redefining Community Radio as Essential Civic Infrastructure
A look into how the National Federation for Community Broadcasters is using the Civic Information Index to find opportunities where community radio can help build civic infrastructure.
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Tackling low voter turnout with the Evansville NewsLab
The Evansville NewsLab (ENL) is a civic journalism initiative in Evansville, Indiana using community research to fill gaps in local news and raise voter turnout.
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The Evidence for a Big Bet: How MacArthur Foundation Used the Index to Equip Its Partners
The MacArthur Foundation is making a big bet on local news, catalyzing hundreds of millions of dollars to support the sector through its own giving, as well as through its role spearheading the larger funder movement known as Press Forward. But with an ambitious goal like this, one question looms large: where do you start?…
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Building Civic Confidence: How Press Forward Minnesota is Using the Index to Fund a New Kind of Journalism
For Press Forward Minnesota’s (PFMN) May Yang, the journey to understand local information needs around the state began with a troubling discovery.
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Documented: Using Data to Drive Funding to Immigrant Communities in Need
Documented, a New York City-based non-profit newsroom serving immigrant communities, is leveraging the Civic Information Index to guide a new training program for peer outlets.
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Beyond Headlines: How a University of Oregon Class is Using Index Data to Redefine Journalism
For the journalism students in Andrew DeVigal’s “Engaged Journalism” course at the University of Oregon, the assignment is anything but academic. Their classroom is the small, rural communities of Oregon, and their challenge is profound: How can journalism do more than just report on a community? How can it be more responsive to its needs? How can it help a community thrive? Particularly, they are exploring how local journalism can contribute to a broader civic infrastructure that fosters community connection, democratic participation, and resilience.
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A Community-Centered Path to Change for North Carolina
The North Carolina Local News Lab fund has been using the Civic Information Index since the summer of 2024 to ground their grant-making in data and reinforce a holistic, community-centered approach to supporting news and information needs in the state. We sat down with the fund’s director, Lizzy Hazeltine, to understand what this means in…
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A Data-Driven Roadmap for Reinvestment in Appalachia
For Press Forward (PF) Central Appalachia, the challenge is clear: bringing new life to the news and information ecosystem across a vast, primarily rural region. To convince national funders to invest in an area historically overlooked, the team focused on building a powerful, data-driven case for support. They worked to answer a critical question: How…
