Announcing the New Mexico Local News Fund

March 1, 2019

Journalism is a cornerstone of our democracy and we have a roadmap for protecting and strengthening local journalism in our state. The New Mexico Local News Fund will lead efforts to identify strategies and innovation that could transform our local news ecosystem.

In 2018, we worked with New Mexico First to survey working journalists, students and educators about opportunities and challenges in the industry. The final report, Advancing Sustainable, Reliable Journalism in NM, identified a range of potential strategies for strengthening news outlets across the state.

We finally have an organization in New Mexico dedicated to addressing the health of our local news industry. With support from the Democracy Fund and the Thornburg Foundation, we have developed a robust plan to bring together stakeholders from communities and the journalism industry to discuss the future of news in our state.

In 2019, we will focus on four key programs:

· Fellowships and training for reporters

· A training for editors who want to build new skills and engage in conversations about innovation in both reporting and business models for local news

· A summit on collaboration among news outlets across the state

· Community conversations to identify urgent information needs and new ideas for potential partnerships with local news media

And we are not alone. To the north, the Colorado Media Project is also working with journalists, community leaders and academics to identify models for innovation in local news.

Want to get involved? Have an idea that you think would make a difference in your community? Reach out to our program coordinator:

Sarah Gustavus
NMlocalnews@gmail.com