Planting Seeds for a New Era of Entrepreneurial Journalism

Why we’re launching a new online program to empower independent journalists to become “armies of one.”

Update: We announced our first cohort! Find out more about the program on our new site and read here about our pilot cohort.

Over the last few years, it’s become increasingly clear that many legacy news organizations will not survive. The arrival of a global pandemic has further decimated the industry, leaving thousands of journalists laid off, furloughed or with substantially lower pay.

At the same time, many journalists are realizing they not only can — but want — to operate independently. They display a hunger for turning passion, expertise and craft into paying work, moving beyond the legacy employer and going it alone. Alongside the emergence of what some are dubbing the “passion economy,” new tools and platforms have emerged to aid these “armies of one.”

Niche creators are independently launching podcasts, starting newsletters, and creating YouTube channels. They’re developing event series, building Patreon-funded communities and messaging people with Subtext. Some are debuting local, niche or industry publications to fill the news desert gap and to revitalize civic engagement.

To serve this emerging community of creators, in October of 2020 the Newmark J-School will launch a new, 100-day certificate program, which will be exclusively…