Helping news entrepreneurs and their communities flourish everywhere
By Amy L. Kovac-Ashley
Post-election, many people talked about the need to think locally, act locally and support their community. We at TNC agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment — at the same time that we would like to challenge folks to expand their definition of community.
At Tiny News Collective, we think of community as more expansive than just physical proximity: communities based in language, faith traditions, professional backgrounds, racial and ethnic identities, shared interests, diasporas, etc. — and the way they intersect with geography — are all worthy of coverage and engagement. Now more than ever.
Thus, we see serving communities as a both-and, instead of an either-or, part of our mission. Yes, we support publishers who serve geographic communities — especially those filling vital news gaps — which matters for people who connect through local parks, libraries, schools, places of workshop or even at the grocery store. And we also support founders who serve other types of communities.
Consider a language community, with people sharing a common tongue. We serve many small publishers who focus on these kinds of communities, such as Planeta Venus for the Spanish-speaking community in Wichita and Ethiopique for the Amharic-speaking community in the Washington, D.C., area. Right now, many of these founders are figuring out ways to inform their communities about their rights and how to stay safe. For example, Fernando Soto of Nuestra Estado in South Carolina has put together this resource in Spanish and English for the Latine community in his state.
Each of these communities have specific experiences, traditions and needs, and we at TNC are focused on how we can help founders serve them — founders who themselves come from these communities. Listening to founders and trusting them is a central tenet of how we work. And we are even more committed to that now as these communities and many others come under attack. The new administration’s policies are already harming communities of all kinds in targeted ways, and TNC founders are looking at ways to support and inform those who are experiencing these adverse effects first. A central question is: what do these communities need most?
If you’re interested in exploring this question and finding solutions, please get in touch. If you’re attending the Knight Media Forum in Miami next month, I’ll be there in person and would love to continue the conversation.
Small publishers can earn revenue from advertising sales in ways that reflect their community commitment and provide a premium audience connection to advertisers. The hardest part is getting started.
That’s a major takeaway from a report we spearheaded in partnership with Rebuild Local News, “Homegrown Advertising: How small publishers want to build revenue programs that reflect their communities.” The report examines attitudes toward advertising and practices independent publishers use to earn advertising revenue, based on surveys, focus groups and interviews with small news publishers, ad experts and academics.
Read more about the report here, and you can sign up for two webinars next month to learn more about “Homegrown Advertising”: On Feb. 11, we will highlight the major findings, and on Feb. 25, we will share tips for small publishers who want to get started with an ad program.
For our latest “5 Questions with…” profile, we talked with Brit Harley, founder and publisher of Five Wards Media, one of the first cohort of TNC members in 2021. Five Wards Media’s mission is to honor and amplify the community of Newark’s vibrant stories, culture and information needs. The publication has a commitment to deep listening, building relationships and engaging with city residents to provide unique coverage of diverse issues across Newark’s five wards. Brit talked about her background as a community organizer, the strength of her community media fellowship program, and an innovative project where high school students interviewed community members about the history of Newark.
“These stories [from the Brick City Voices Project] really help us preserve the history of Newark and look at the housing crisis that we’re currently facing,” Brit said. “We’re seeing some of the reasons why the rebellion happened in ‘67, and doing deeper explorations about folks who were impacted by the construction of interstates 78 and 280 here in Newark and the public housing that was demolished. It’s been cool to get so much community feedback and see all the people who have signed up to interview and share stories as well.”
Read the whole profile here.
💰Congratulations to Tiny News members who have recently received grants to support their work and operations. Project Optimist (in collaboration with St. Cloud Somali Community Radio) and Eden Prairie News both received $40,000 grants from Press Forward Minnesota. Project Optimist also received a $20,000 grant from Morgan Family Foundation.
And Harvey World Herald and Black by God | The West Virginian both received grants from The Pivot Fund. Plus, Black by God | The West Virginian and Four Points Press both received grants from the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund last month. 🥂
🚀It’s great to see our Tiny News members make a splash with launches in the past month. Here’s a roundup of some of those:
💥Just how can publishers show potential funders, investors and donors that they have made an impact in communities? Impact reports, of course! Congrats to two of our members who recently released impact reports for their work in 2024: Ethiopique and Planeta Venus. Here’s just a taste: Planeta Venus reached 2.9 million people on Facebook, and Ethiopique increased annual revenues by 480%. Keep up the good work! 🪅
🌟The Oxford Free Press was named the Organization of the Year by the Kiwanis Club in Oxford, Ohio, for restoring a weekly newspaper to the town. “For almost a decade Oxford and its surrounding townships have been without a newspaper to inform us jointly,” Sally Southard wrote while nominating the Free Press. “Now we can jointly celebrate, build trust and unite to do better for all our residents.”
👏🏽The Latino Newsletter and founder Julio Ricardo Varela celebrated passing 1,000 subscribers recently (see graphic above). Plus, Varela was featured in the Substack publication “My First Byline.” Felicidades, Julio!
Journalism Conferences List from journalism.wtf
A helpful list of media and journalism conferences happening this year, put together by TNC co-founder Heather Bryant.
Documented training program from Documented
Documented will support newsrooms across the country in innovating journalism for local immigrant communities in their languages. Documented will train these newsrooms to understand their local immigrant communities’ needs, support their editorial processes and the way they communicate and build engagement and support for this work. To inquire about the program, fill out this form.
Knight-Wallace Fellowships at the University of Michigan
Journalists eager for growth and committed to the future of journalism can spend an academic year at the University of Michigan to access the resources of the university and dive into a journalism project. They receive an $85,000 stipend and $5,000 to cover relocation costs. Apply by February 1.
RJI fellowships from the Reynolds Journalism Institute
Applications are due by February 7. Remote fellows receive a $25,000 stipend and $5,000 impact bonus, and residential fellows get $100,000 for project costs and a monthly $5,000 living stipend.
Featured image: Celebrations for Ethiopian Day Festival in Silver Spring, MD (Photo by Henok Mengistu)
Thanks for reading the latest edition of the Big Blast from Tiny News. Be sure to follow us on social media to keep up with the latest from TNC and our amazing group of founders!
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The Big Blast Credits
Written by Amy L. Kovac-Ashley, with Mark Glaser
Edited by Amy L. Kovac-Ashley and Erica Perel
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