How can we create more understanding of the Spanish-speaking media ecosystem and strengthen its reach? The group established a dynamic collaboration of Spanish-language news outlets, civic leaders, and media innovators united to revolutionize local journalism for Hispanic communities in the US.

Cycle: 2024-2025

What set of standards should we advocate for in local news and information ecosystem assessments? This group established a set of shared standards centered around community well being and ethical research practices. It convened discussions, gathered feedback and produced a report with models, key principles, practical options for researchers, and recommendations for the field.

Cycle: 2024-2025

How might we better support journalists in their transition to becoming newsroom leaders? Journalists are trained to report, but as they excel, they are often promoted into roles that require skills in management, finance, strategy, and more.

This group addressed the gap in leadership and management training within the industry. Through virtual convenings, it engaged current, future, and past leaders to explore the types of training, community-building, and resources needed at various stages of leadership.

Cycle: 2024-2025

How might we refresh the original Hierarchy of Information Needs, articulated in our 2018 paper “Is Your Journalism a Luxury or a Necessity?” There is huge transformative potential in a structural approach to meeting information needs, where fundamental needs are addressed as a public good and higher levels of information preference are met by the market as a luxury good. This framework, created at the first meeting of what would become News Futures, has helped people around the world, but it’s time for a refresh. 

Cycle: 2024-2025

How might we build stronger alliances with values-and mission-aligned people and organizations outside of the local news space? We got to know civic allies who work across libraries, digital spaces, grassroots organizing, and more. We hosted online and in-person learning sessions with potential civic allies. Outside of those learning sessions, we debriefed what we learned and identified areas of collaboration between News Futures and civic allies.

Cycle: 2024-2025

What would a $1 billion economy for civic information look like? This group envisioned an economic model for a reparative civic information sector that prioritizes community well-being and sustainability. The goal: To surface different approaches to enable mission-driven financing, grantmaking, mutual aid, and investment strategies that prioritize public interest and civic media sustainability.

Cycle: 2024-2025

How might we elevate examples of civic media being practiced by individuals and organizations in communities? We translated the News Futures Charter into an accessible, growing set of living examples (framed as a cookbook) for others to learn from, as our community advances civic information / civic health.

Cycle: 2024-2025

How can community media centers serve as laboratories for collaborative journalism? This group worked with community media center leaders nationwide, developing case studies and narratives showcasing these centers as collaborative journalism laboratories, emphasizing their role in coalition and trust building.

Cycle: 2023-2024

What is at the intersection of care-full gatherings and storytelling? Season II of the Care Collaboratory focused on how we gather people (IRL and virtually) in ways that generate a deeper sense of connection, belonging and possibility.

Cycle: 2023-2024