Eight independent news outlets that completed the UNC-Knight Table Stakes program received grants from the first round of the national Press Forward grants, according to the list of grantees announced by Press Forward on Oct. 16.
The newsrooms each received grants for $100,000 for two years of general operating support.
The national funding coalition announced its first call for proposals in April 2024. The call, titled “Closing Local Coverage Gaps, specified the grants would be focused on addressing the long-standing inequalities in journalistic coverage of underserved communities. 205 newsrooms across the U.S. received $20 million total from the first round of grants.
According to Nieman Lab, 59% of grantees are for-profits while 40% are nonprofits; 40% are led by Black, Indigenous, or other leaders of color; 25% serve rural communities.
UNC-Knight Foundation Table Stakes Initiative was a newsroom transformation program that served 61 newsrooms from North Carolina and the Southeast between 2017-2023. The newsrooms, members of the second, third, fifth and sixth UNC Table Stakes cohorts, include:
- Atlanta Civic Circle is a nonprofit news organization that seeks to connect grassroots communities with policymakers through news and information and a focus on solutions journalism and in-depth reporting. Most recently, ACC partnered with Canopy Atlanta on the Cost of Living Project, which was named the Collaboration of the Year at LION Publishers’ 2024 Awards.
- Border Belt Independent is a nonprofit news outlet serving Bladen, Columbus, Robeson, and Scotland counties in North Carolina. The news organization is an example of how rural news organizations can explore innovative solutions to serving its readers, including through partnerships with local newspapers.
- Carolina Public Press is a nonprofit news outlet serving the state of North Carolina. Their coverage is often investigative, and has recently focused on election transparency. In the past, they have organized statewide collaborations that have resulted in new laws protecting NC residents.
- Charlottesville Tomorrow is a nonprofit news outlet that delivers in-depth reporting and analysis that improves local decision-making in central Virginia. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the outlet removed its paywall and focused its reporting on the most vulnerable residents in the city.
- Down in the County is a visual-first newsletter that serves Pamlico County and features reporting and photography by award-winning international photojournalist Andrea Bruce. Bruce was CatchLight’s first-ever senior fellow. Bruce has been teaching photography and journalism to middle and high school students at an afterschool program as part of her community service mission.
- Henrico Citizen is a 20-year-old news source serves Henrico County, a collection of unincorporated communities around Richmond, Va. Recently, they partnered with the Henrico County Economic Development Authority to offer advertising grants to local small businesses. For each $4,000 advertising package, the EDA would pay half and the Citizen would grant the other half in services, bringing in $40,000 for the Citizen.
- North Carolina Health News is a nonprofit outlet covering health policy in the state. The outlet covers stories that would go otherwise un- or underreported. During the pandemic, NC Health News established a content partnership with public radio station WUNC to provide accurate and up-to-date COVID-19 information.
- QCityMetro produces news, content, and events that are culturally, politically, and economically relevant to Black communities in Charlotte, NC. The outlet has grown since its time in the fourth cohort, bringing on a sales and marketing director and a managing editor.