NJ News Voices: Marshaling community to advocate for local journalism

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Often the "future of news" debates revolves around the news industry. In New Jersey, a new effort will leverage community organizing strategies on behalf of quality local journalism -- so communities can join forces with journalists to advocate for better local news, and better access to local information. NJ News Voices was announced at the recent Engage Local conference in Newark (NJ). In this 18-month project, Free Press will foster closer relationships between NJ communities and their local newsrooms. The goal: to create a constituency to advocate effectively for local journalism. NJ News Voices is supported with funding from the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the Democracy Fund.

Free Press will develop tools to help newsrooms and communities collaborate on newsgathering -- Resources and strategies that newsrooms and communities can use together to foster this kind of constituency and make it self sustaining. They'll also publish at least two research reports -- on challenges facing NJ journalists, and proposing policy recommendations to support open government and quality newsgathering in that state. If the strategies of this initial project prove successful, Free Press hopes to roll out similar initiatiatives around the US.


NJ News Voices: Marshaling community to advocate for local journalism