OUR APPROACH
The National Trust for Local News is a nonprofit dedicated to keeping local news in local hands.
We work with communities to catalyze the capital, new ownership structures, and business model transformations needed for established local and community news organizations to thrive and remain deeply grounded in their communities.
HOW WE BEGAN
Established in 2021, we are pioneering a new way for local communities to conserve, transform, and sustain their sources of news.
In April 2021, we completed a pilot acquisition of a chain of 24 community newspapers in Colorado. In less than six months, we were able to identify the opportunity; raise local and national capital to support our acquisition; complete the purchase; enter into agreements with a local operating partner; create a shared governance body for the new entity; and hire a new publisher.
The success of this effort has generated more interest from other papers in the state and across the U.S. We are currently active in five states—all within our first years of operation.
HOW WE WORK
The Trust conserves and transforms the community news sources that already exist and helps these newsrooms reach far into the future.
Like a land trust, we work in partnership with local communities to conserve and transform trusted local and community news organizations so that they can continue to serve their communities’ civic, cultural, and information needs for generations to come. Our work provides inclusive pathways for individuals and institutions to invest in the health of our local democracies.
The Trust is the only nonprofit organization that conserves existing community news titles and provides the transformational expertise
and resources they need to serve their communities for generations
to come.
HOW WE SUSTAIN COMMUNITY NEWS
CONSERVE
State- and county-level due diligence in the form of a landscape assessment that identifies the community news titles best suited for conservation. Negotiation with owners to acquire and conserve titles by placing them in a new nonprofit State Trust for Local News.
TRANSFORM
Business and operations transformation services to increase efficiency. Editorial transformation to increase audience and revenue.
SUSTAIN
Community engagement and governance to ensure these titles are reflective of, and sustainably governed by, the communities they serve.
