Helping news entrepreneurs and their communities flourish everywhere
By Amy L. Kovac-Ashley
In October, we were thrilled when six of our Tiny News Collective members received funding from Press Forward, with a transformational investment of between $50,000 and $100,000 per newsroom over two years. Almost six months in, we thought it was a good time to check in and learn how these founders are using the funding so far and what plans they have for the future. This money can make a big impact on small news organizations. So let’s hear from these six founders to learn about the impact this kind of investment can have:
Cindy Fisher, Black Belt News Network (BBNN)
“Our goal is to spread awareness of what BBNN is doing in the Black Belt region and generate more great ideas, grants, partnerships, sponsors and donors so the network will be around for decades to come,” Cindy said.
Nancy Flores, Austin Vida
“Press Forward funding so far has helped Austin Vida build up its capacity with a growing team. We’ve been able to renew a contract to our associate editor as well as add a new role to our team: a contract gente engagement specialist who's been elevating our audience work,” Nancy said.
Nora Hertel, Project Optimist
“Press Forward funding has provided breathing room as we transition from a fiscally sponsored nonprofit to an independent nonprofit and as we develop our paid sponsorship program,” Nora said.
Cara Kuhlman, Future Tides
“The two-year funding commitment, the recognition of Future Tides’ vision, and a shared focus on closing local coverage gaps also helped shape our first-ever strategic plan, laying the groundwork for much more to come,” Cara said.
Henok Mengistu, Ethiopique
“Thanks to the Press Forward funding, we’ve been able to pay our contributors more, ensuring consistent reporting that’s already making a difference: Our website has hit 58,000 views in 2025, surpassing all of last year’s 43,000,” Henok said.
Mark Tyler, Atlantic City Focus
“By providing us with the resources to make a long-term investment in sustainability, this grant is playing a pivotal role in ensuring that Atlantic City Focus can continue serving our community with impactful journalism for years to come,” Mark said.
For our latest “5 Questions with…” feature, we caught up with award-winning journalist Nancy Flores, editor and publisher of Austin Vida, a digital news and culture site that amplifies, informs and celebrates the Latinidad of Austin with culturally competent news that centers the voices of nuestra gente (our people). Nancy talked about how she launched Austin Vida during the pandemic, the engagement she’s had in her community, and a heartfelt community essay series that ran in January.
“Through our community, cultural and mental health coverage, we are reaching readers in ways they hadn't experienced before. Austin Vida is more than a publication; it's helping people know that they belong,” Nancy said.
Read the whole feature here.
We are excited to announce that the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation has renewed its support in 2025 for Tiny News Collective with a grant of $350,000 for our metrics initiative focused on local news entrepreneurs. This funding will help us expand our metrics programming, technology and coaching for early-stage news organizations that need right-sized, relevant data to help make decisions in their phase of development.
In the first year of the metrics initiative, TNC learned more about the needs for smaller newsrooms, with key takeaways that each newsroom needs to tie metrics to their unique mission and audience, and that founders need context for their data. We also partnered with Datasketch to design, build and roll out custom metrics dashboards for an initial cohort of TNC members, while providing training on the dashboards.
Learn more about this support from McGovern and the metrics program here.
📮 The 51st published results from its first community listening survey and interviews, run by its first “community connector,” George Kevin Jordan. Results included that 36% have some trust in local news, 32% said they have a lot of trust and nearly 13% say they have little trust. “My biggest takeaway is that building relationships, whether friendships or community connections, takes time. There is a lot of trial and error along the way,” he wrote.
🔎 Amethyst J. Davis at Harvey World Herald wrote an in-depth report about a county commissioner receiving $30,000 for working at the library where her husband now serves as board president. The story was also picked up by The Triibe and Block Club Chicago.
🏆 Mat-Su Sentinel won the Best Newcomer award from Hearken for its work covering last year’s local elections by asking the public what questions or topics they wanted in voter guides. The Sentinel partnered with ElectUp to publish the region’s first ever interactive voter guide. Nicely done! 🗳️
🦾 TNC members Henok Mengistu of Ethiopique and Claudia Amaro of Planeta Venus were chosen to participate in the AI Community Engagement Lab at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY from March through October. The hybrid program includes virtual classes, hands-on workshops, online coaching and a final project — all designed to equip them with practical AI applications for community journalism.
🗣️We love seeing TNC members out in the real world, giving talks, getting quoted and showing up in their communities. Here are some highlights from the past month:
🎙️ Jillian Melero of Connect Puerto Rico was a guest on the Speaking of Phenomenal podcast, discussing how Anthony Bourdain inspired her to become a journalist.
✨ Crystal Good of Black by God | The West Virginian was profiled in The Pivot Fund’s blog, talking about her strategic shift to producing more videos with a larger newsroom.
đź“Š Nora Hertel of Project Optimist and Madison Karas, TNC's project manager of R&D/product manager, spoke at the Local Journalism Researchers Workshop about TNC's data and impact metrics program. TNC's operations director Erica Perel moderated the panel.
5 lessons learned from sustainability audits from LION Publishers
After three years and 450 audits of newsrooms, LION shared some lessons learned: take time to reflect on your business, clarify your priorities and diversify your revenue.
Online harassment field manual from PEN America
Whether you’re experiencing or witnessing online abuse, this manual offers concrete strategies for how to defend yourself and others.
Email marketing for nonprofits from Inbox Collective
This free online course empowers nonprofit and other mission-driven organizations to grow their audiences and turn subscribers into dedicated supporters.
Making the case for local news: Perspectives from news leaders from the News Philanthropy Network
A three-part virtual series featuring newsroom leaders who are actively working to create unified messaging that highlights the value of the local journalism they produce to engage funders. Learn more here.
Organizing engagement initiatives and covering immigration under Trump 2.0 from America Amplified
This tipsheet offers practical guidance for organizing engagement initiatives and reporting responsibly on immigration.
Featured image: TNC member Press Forward grantees (clockwise from top left): Mark Tyler, Cindy Fisher, Nancy Flores, Nora Hertel, Henok Mengistu and Cara Kuhlman
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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