Why the local media industry needs Google News Initiative more than ever

The Google News Initiative could go away. Just like the Meta Journalism Project went away. And this would be disastrous for the local news industry.?

No other organization has spurred innovation in our industry more than GNI (followed closely by Meta). It’s because they have deep pockets to drive change. They fund big initiatives that industry trade organizations would never be able to do on their own. Many of those initiatives have been game-changing for countless media organizations.?

“Game-changing” can be an overused term. So let me point out some examples:

• Word In Black would not exist without GNI. The $300,000 seed money provided by GNI through its Innovation Challenge allowed us to launch a bigger, bolder version than we could have done on our own. This accelerated our growth and led us to the formation of a public benefit corporation in January of this year. Without that funding, we would have stalled. Now we’re working with a $4 million budget and growing with a plan to involve more Black publishers. Game-changing for the Black press.?
• During that same Innovation Challenge competition, Lookout Santa Cruz was also awarded $300,000. I was on the judging panel and remember the application well. Like Word In Black, Lookout represented true innovation in our industry. Fast forward four years later: Lookout Santa Cruz just won a Pulitzer Prize. That’s unbelievable.?
• The GNI/LMA Subscriptions Lab worked with 10 forward-thinking publishers. GNI brought in FTI Consulting as the partner (big $$) to work individually with all 10. I spent two days with GNI, FTI and the staff at The Post and Courier (Charleston, South Carolina). This lab changed their whole strategy and put them on a major growth path. This effect applied to the others, as well. This was a 7-figure investment. GNI makes big bets and backs them up with the appropriate level of funding.
• The success of Word In Black led to GNI’s funding of News is Out - a queer media collaborative. That group is now approaching $2 million in funding and looking to expand beyond the initial six.?
• It’s not just LMA, of course. Programs coming out of LION and INN have been game changing for digital startups. GNI startup labs bootcamp, Tiny News Collective, sustainability audits and Project Oasis all come to mind. These programs have fueled the growth of digital news startups in a wide range of markets.?
• Do you know what else GNI has supported over the years? Report for America —in a big way. Hundreds of journalists have been placed in newsrooms all over the world as a result of this funding.?
• And the list goes on: American Journalism Project, The Associated Press, Poynter, Borealis Racial Equity Fund, WAN-IFRA, NNPA, ONA, NAHP, countless universities, and hundreds of local news organizations worldwide. Every organization that is near and dear to the hearts of our industry has been positively impacted by GNI.?
• The LMA Lab for Journalism Funding is now entering Year 4. Over 100 local news organizations have collectively raised over $24 million to fund journalism projects. Without GNI, this lab never happens. In 2024, we’re expanding to 44 newsrooms and bringing on a few new funding partners. Journalism funded by philanthropy should be a core pillar for every local news organization.?
• GNI inspires others to give. Knight Foundation first met with Word In Black publishers to understand their pain points before approving the $3.2 million Knight x LMA BloomLab, which has been groundbreaking for the 25 Black publishers. Knight also went on to fund the Queer Media Sustainability Lab. Both projects were built on top of initiatives funded by GNI. Meta also quickly joined the list of funders for Word In Black and other initiatives originally funded by GNI.?
• Last but not least, GNI has developed amazing tools for journalists and on the business side. Its new reader revenue product is greatly improved and has new features that can help small to large local news organizations, including broadcasters. Pinpoint, a research tool for journalists, has helped hundreds of newsrooms (including one that led to a Pulitzer Prize). We need more of these tools, not fewer. And we certainly don’t want them to go away.?

If GNI dissolves, a lot of the innovation will go with it. A lot of people will lose their jobs. Labs, accelerators, training, conferences and more will go away. We’re still recovering from the void left by the Meta Journalism Project. Losing GNI would be a deadly one-two punch.

Please weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below and by all means, propose some solutions.