Press Forward Rhode Island Chapter to strengthen local news and information sources

Effort from Rhode Island Foundation, van Beuren Charitable Foundation aims to strengthen local news and information sources 

The Rhode Island Foundation and the van Beuren Charitable Foundation today announced that Press Forward has approved their application for a Rhode Island chapter. The goal is to cultivate civically engaged and well-informed communities across Rhode Island by supporting diverse, reliable local news and information sources. 

“We know that strong civic health leads to positive community outcomes, including in health, education and creating equitable opportunities. We recognize that a critical component of strong civic health is strong civic journalism and local news,” said David N. Cicilline, the Rhode Island Foundation’s president and CEO.  

Over the next few months, the two foundations will conduct research and gather community input to assess needs and information gaps in the state. This information will shape Press Forward Rhode Island’s strategy and guide investments.   

“The van Beuren Charitable Foundation is pleased to partner with the Rhode Island Foundation to ensure Rhode Island has access to relevant local news and information,” said Elizabeth R. Lynn, executive director. 

The work of the chapter — shaped by the research and community input – will be anchored in: 

• Strengthening the local news ecosystem leading to more civically engaged Rhode Islanders who can easily access information they can trust.   
• Supporting independent journalists, historically marginalized and non-traditional or new journalistic voices, traditional nonprofit and for-profit news entities that share content to fill information gaps, amplify important local news stories, contextualize global and national stories for a local audience, and improve community cohesion and government accountability throughout the state. 
• Providing resources to innovate and test models that will ensure the community has access to information while media entities develop sustainable structures for news gathering and delivery given changing news consumption patterns. 

Press Forward is a nationwide initiative to strengthen democracy by revitalizing local news and information. A coalition of national funders, including the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, the Knight Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; is investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and to scale the infrastructure the sector needs to thrive. 

“Funders are investing in local news at higher rates than ever before. This is not only a recognition of what is at stake, but also a testament to the importance and impact of our local newsrooms, trusted communicators and ecosystem leaders,” said Press Forward Director Dale R. Anglin. “For a place-based approach to be effective, we must engage, listen to and trust community leaders to guide funding decisions and the future of local news.” 

Local chapters work closely with the national organization and are part of a network that shares information, models and tools to accelerate learning and action. For more details about Press Forward Rhode Island visit, rifoundation.org/pressforwardfaqs. 

To receive updates on Press Forward Rhode Island’s progress, sign up for the Rhode Island Foundation’s enews.