A new report looks at 559 funding proposals to determine local journalism’s biggest problems

Journalism-funding-world spicy isn’t the same as, uh, regular-world spicy. But for the journalism-funding world, ProPublica founder Dick Tofel’s recent interview with Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro about her new report, “Rebuilding local journalism at scale: A field-level analysis of infrastructure needs,” contained some 🔥. (Too many journalism nonprofits! Too many intermediaries! Nonprofit bloat! Funders don’t understand what...

6 April 2026 at 06:10 pm

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A new report looks at 559 funding proposals to determine local journalism’s biggest problems

A new report by Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, titled "Rebuilding local journalism at scale: A field-level analysis of infrastructure needs," has sparked discussions in the journalism-funding world. The report, which draws on nearly 560 applications submitted to Press Forward’s nationwide infrastructure open call, offers one of the most comprehensive practitioner-defined datasets on the infrastructure challenges facing local journalism. The analysis highlights systemic issues within the field, including an overabundance of journalism nonprofits, excessive intermediaries, and a lack of understanding between funders and the audiences they aim to serve.

In a recent interview with ProPublica founder Dick Tofel, Hansen Shapiro discussed the key findings of her report. She emphasized that while philanthropic institutions may not be optimized for picking winners, solving systemic problems requires a more strategic approach to funding. The current landscape is characterized by numerous competing solutions, leading to a waste of philanthropic capital. Hansen Shapiro also highlighted the need for a willingness to let underperforming initiatives fail, as market mechanisms are lacking in a predominantly nonprofit field.

One of the challenges identified in the report is the mixed value received by small newsrooms from intermediaries. Hansen Shapiro noted that audiences, or citizens, often have different preferences and orientations than philanthropic individuals and institutions, making it difficult to serve both groups effectively. She also acknowledged that the era of innovation in local journalism may have come to an end, with the focus now shifting to scaling solutions that can address systemic issues.

The interview with Tofel garnered significant attention, becoming his most-viewed Substack post and sparking discussions on LinkedIn. The report, published by Media Impact Funders, provides valuable insights into the infrastructure needs of local journalism and calls for a more strategic and targeted approach to funding. As Hansen Shapiro's analysis reveals, addressing the challenges faced by local journalism requires a careful examination of the current funding landscape and a commitment to prioritizing solutions that can make a meaningful impact.

Source: Nieman Lab

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