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Carolina Public Press is pleased to announce it has received a $100,000 grant from the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, which seeks to support people and organizations making sure that North Carolinians have greater access to the news and information they need to participate fully in their communities and our democracy.
These are the first grants made from the Fund since it was established in 2017, and Carolina Public Press is one of 10 organizations to be be awarded a grant.
“Carolina Public Press is thrilled to partner with the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund to invest in independent, in-depth and investigative reporting in North Carolina,” Founder and Executive Director Angie Newsome said. “We announced in February that Carolina Public Press is growing from its roots in western North Carolina to provide award-winning journalism and programming across the state. We are excited that the Fund agreed that now is the time expand efforts to provide consistent, unique and trustworthy investigative journalism that has coordinated, statewide impact.”
These funds will support Carolina Public Press’s work to pilot investigative reporting collaborations among media outlets to spotlight statewide issues by highlighting local stories and to organize listening sessions and issue-based forums across the state — ones that put North Carolinians at the center of the news and news generation — through a new project, the North Carolina Investigative Journalism Collaborative. It will also support efforts toward making statewide investigative reporting financially sustainable for the long term.
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is a collaborative fund at the North Carolina Community Foundation established by a group of local and national funders who believe in the power of local journalism, local stories, and local people to strengthen our democracy. The project includes an advisory board made up of local and regional funders and practitioners, including from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, Z Smith Reynolds Foundation, AJ Fletcher Foundation, the Prentice Foundation, Democracy Fund, North Carolina Central University and the NC Congress of Latino Organizations.
The grantees include:
- Asheville Writers in the Schools: Word on the Street/La Vos de los Jovenes
- Carolina Public Press: North Carolina Investigative Journalism Collaborative
- Colectivo de Comunicación Participativa de Carolina del Norte (CCPNC): Enlace Latino NC
- Duke University Reporters Lab: North Carolina Fact-Checking Project
- North Carolina Health News
- North Carolina Press Association
- UNC Center for Public TV: Public Media NC and HBCU Radio
- UNC School of Media and Journalism: Trail Blazer
- WNCU: Advancement of Emerging Young, Diverse News Journalists
- Working Narratives
“This group represents the fund’s commitment to supporting a diverse set of organizations pursuing meaningful projects that can better serve local communities and strengthen the ecosystem overall,” said Teresa Gorman, NC Local News Lab Fund advisory board member. “Each of these grantees also represents vital networks of people, communities and organizations who will be engaged and collaborating with them on their work.”
About Carolina Public Press
Carolina Public Press is an independent nonprofit news organization dedicated to nonpartisan, in-depth and investigative news built upon the facts and context North Carolinians need to know. Our award-winning, breakthrough journalism dismantles barriers and shines a light on the critical overlooked and under-reported issues facing our state’s 10.2 million residents. Carolina Public Press launched in 2011 with a focus on western North Carolina. In February, it announced it is transforming from a regionally focused news organization to the go-to sustainable independent, in-depth, investigative news arm for North Carolina. Subscribe for free here.
About the NC Local News Lab Fund
The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is a collaborative fund housed at the North Carolina Community Foundation to support people and organizations working to build a healthier local news and information ecosystem in North Carolina. The Fund was established by a group of local and national funders who believe in the power of local journalism, local stories, and local people to strengthen our democracy. To learn more, visit localnewslab.org or follow @thelocalnewslab.
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