Case studies

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?

For Press Forward Minnesota’s (PFMN) May Yang, the journey to understand local information needs around the state began with a troubling discovery.

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.

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.

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.…

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…