To support a project on the future of civic media

Free Press, launched in 2003, seeks to envision, advocate for, and realize an “equitable and just media system.” In 2018, Free Press was able to demonstrate the power and appeal of this vision when the State of New Jersey enacted a Civic Information Bill in response to a statewide-effort campaign inspired by Free Press. The legislation established and funds the independent NJ Civic Information Consortium, which in turn provides financial support to innovative, community-based efforts to train journalists and cover local news. Free Press plans to continue this state-level work in other parts of the country—building diverse coalitions dedicated to civic media, developing policy ideas appropriate to these different contexts, and advocating for governmental support of civic media with policymakers. Free Press plans to launch analogous civic media initiatives in four additional states over the next two years.