AP Fund for Journalism (APFJ) today announced 50 additional news organizations are joining its landmark local news program, growing the total number of participating newsrooms to 100 in this first-of-its kind civic infrastructure initiative aimed at supporting public service journalism, strengthening the U.S. local news ecosystem, and providing people information and news that supports communities across the country.
This expansion marks another significant milestone for APFJ, which aims to have 150 total participating newsrooms by the end of 2026 and 300 by 2028. APFJ launched a pilot program with 50 news organizations last April.
“This expansion is an important step as we continue to scale our program in support of local news across the country,” said Rachel White, CEO of APFJ. “In less than a year, we’re already helping local outlets move faster, reach more people, and better serve their communities by providing the content, tools, services, and training they need to grow and sustain their news organizations.”
The participating newsrooms receive access to nonpartisan, factual public service journalism – including elections coverage – from The Associated Press, as well as essential services that help outlets serve and localize content for their audiences to help widen their reach and facilitate pathways to financial sustainability.
This next group of newsrooms will include a focus on three sub-cohorts: Spanish language news outlets; university news organizations; and a regional group of newsrooms based in the southwestern U.S. With shared interests and similarities in audience composition, these news organizations will find even more benefits from content sharing and collaborations.
Notably participating newsrooms now share some of their own content through AP’s distribution network to widen the reach and impact of their journalism further.
The new participating newsrooms include: Baltimore Beat, Block Club Chicago, Borderless Magazine, Boulder Reporting Lab, CALÓ News, Capitol News Illinois, Caplin News, The Current (Lafayette), El Comercio de Colorado, El Paso Matters, El Tecolote, Esta es la Cosa, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fort Worth Report, India Currents, Juneau Independent, Kodiak Daily Mirror, La Esquina Texas, La Noticia, La Raza Chicago, Latino Herald, Long Beach Post, LOOKOUT, Marfa Public Radio, Nashville Banner, New Mexico In Depth, Niner Times, Noticias para Inmigrantes, Planeta Venus, Queer Kentucky, Se Habla Media, Signal Ohio, The 74, The Argonaut, The Current (Georgia), The Daily Egyptian, The Daily Pennsylvanian, The Daily Nebraskan, The LA Local, The Lexington Observer, The Long Beach Current, The Mercer Cluster, The New Bedford Light, The Red & Black, The Round Up, The Sunflower, Underscore Native News, Voice of San Diego and WyoFile.
About APFJ
The AP Fund for Journalism was created by The Associated Press in 2024 to support public service journalism and make it accessible to state and local news organizations in the U.S. APFJ’s ambition is to underpin and support the U.S. news ecosystem by ensuring news services and widespread access to reliable, nonpartisan and fact-based news and information in underserved issue areas, including but not limited to state and local news. APFJ also supports journalism in topical areas, like health, democracy, education and climate. Online: https://www.apfj.org/
About AP
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. Online: www.ap.org
Contact
For APFJ inquiries:
Victoria Collins
Director of Operations
AP Fund for Journalism
[email protected]
For media inquiries:
Patrick Maks
Director, Media Relations and Corporate Communications
The Associated Press
[email protected]
Nicole Meir
Media Relations Manager
The Associated Press
[email protected]
