The Journalism + Design Lab has received funding from Press Forward to weave community colleges into local news infrastructure and build pathways for more people to produce, share, and act on the news.
The $1.5 million grant will support J+D’s collaborative effort to partner with community colleges, local newsrooms, and other civic institutions in strengthening the flow of reliable news and information. Through this work, J+D co-designs programs that equip local information leaders and trusted messengers to build grassroots news networks that expand the capacity of local newsrooms to serve their communities.
“So much of the infrastructure for news has collapsed in America,” said Heather Chaplin, Journalism + Design Lab’s director. “If we want to keep reliable local news and information circulating, we need a more expansive approach. The J+D Lab builds pathways for more people to participate in their local news systems, and connects those people into infrastructure made up of trusted civic institutions, as well as newsrooms.”
This Press Forward grant will enable J+D to invest in and grow existing initiatives with local partners in New Jersey, New Mexico, and Ohio, adding new network weaver roles and community editorial capacity in each state and expanding access to the J+D Lab’s models, curricula, and resources. Some of our current collaborators include:
- New Jersey: Atlantic Cape Community College, Mercer County Community College and the College VOICE; Middlesex College and Quo Vadis; Sussex County Community College, New Jersey Council for the Humanities, and the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium;
- Ohio: Cuyahoga Community College, Neighborhood Media Foundation, and Signal Cleveland;
- New Mexico: New Mexico Local News Fund and a cohort of four community colleges that will be announced in late July 2025.
Launched in fall 2023, Press Forward is a national initiative to reimagine local news. This funding is part of the organization’s Open Call on Infrastructure, which is providing $22.7 million to 22 projects that address the urgent challenges local newsrooms face today. See full list of Press Forward grant recipients here.
“We’re honored to be among such an inspiring group of organizations working to realize bold opportunities for local news infrastructure of the future,” said Cole Goins, J+D Lab’s managing director. “We’ve already seen the power of mobilizing community colleges as hubs for local news, and we’re eager to deepen the impact of this work by enabling more people to play active roles in their local news ecosystems.”
About Press Forward
Press Forward is a nationwide movement to strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information. Press Forward’s growing coalition of funders has committed to invest more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scale infrastructure the sector needs to thrive. Press Forward is housed at The Miami Foundation. For more, visit pressforward.news.
About Journalism + Design
The Journalism + Design Lab is based at The New School. Using a systems perspective and design strategies, we develop emergent models for strengthening the flow of reliable local news and information. For more information, visit journalismdesign.com.