Oakland Voices awarded $100K Press Forward grant

Oakland Voices is one of 205 small, local news outlets receiving a share of $20 million to close gaps in local news coverage. 

Press Forward, the nationwide movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news, received over 900 proposals. The coalition funded twice as many news organizations as originally planned. 

Oakland Voices will receive $100,000 over two years. 

Oakland Voices Director Rasheed Shabazz said the funds will be used for community engagement, understanding audience needs, and expanding training and workshops. 

“With widespread disinformation and misinformation, and decreased trust in the media, local news coverage needs more support,” Shabazz said. “Oakland Voices hopes to leverage this investment from Press Forward to sustain and expand our community journalism program.” 

Like Oakland Voices, 40 percent of grantees are led by Black, Indigenous, or other leaders of color, and 2-in-5 are also nonprofit newsrooms. 

“These newsrooms are proof that we are seeing a moment of transformation, where new and longstanding are stepping up to create a new story for local news,” said Dale R. Anglin, director of Press Forward. “Each newsroom plays a vital public service role in its community – providing trustworthy local news and information in places where no other sources may exist. Independent newsrooms need community support to survive. We hope that more people will subscribe and donate to them.”

Oakland Voices was established in 2010 as a partnership between the Maynard Institute for Journalism Education and the Oakland Tribune newspaper. Oakland Voices is a program of the Maynard Institute. Over the past 15 years, local news outlets have come and gone, and Oakland has fewer options for news.

Last year, the Maynard Institute joined a group of affinity organizations to demand equitable distribution of funding. Historically, white-led organizations receive a disproportionate amount of philanthropic dollars. 

Martin G. Reynolds, co-executive director of the Maynard Institute and co-founder of Oakland Voices told Nieman Lab, “It is exciting to see how 40% of grantees are BIPOC-led organizations, particularly since only 30% of applicants were BIPOC.”

Press Forward engaged 114 reviewers from the journalism and philanthropy communities to evaluate the applications and ensure a fair process.

Over 114 reviewers from journalism and philanthropy evaluated applications. While Reynolds reviewed applications for the open call for funding, he was not involved in preparing ore reviewing the Oakland Voices application.

Eighteen other California newsrooms received funding, including four in the Bay Area. Newsrooms range from rural newsrooms, online outlets focused on health, people of color, and youth.

“We’re grateful to be part of the diverse ecosystem of news platforms across this country focused on reimagining what local news can be,” Shabazz said. “Press Forward will help us continue to amplify voices in the Town that are too often overlooked in news media.”

Oakland Voices is both a news platform and a journalism training program. The six-month Community Journalism Academy trains residents in journalism ethics, skills like interviewing, newswriting, and photography, and connects participants with local journalists. Alumni continue to contribute to the site, and receive support pitching stories to other outlets. 

The public can join in supporting local newsrooms across the country by donating to the Press Forward Pooled Fund. Every dollar, up to $5 million, will be matched to support local newsrooms across the U.S. 

Learn more at pressforward.news/grantees.

Learn more about Oakland Voices donors and independence policy, or donate directly.