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Supporting Local Journalism

Local newsrooms face an accelerating crisis

Local newsrooms are the heart of their communities. However, according to a Microsoft article, changes in digital advertising and in the way people receive their news has lead to:

  • A decrease in newsroom employment and fewer local stories
  • An increase in digital illiteracy making some susceptible to manipulated content. 
  • Cyber attacks

A Community Solution

 

 

 

 

We along with the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation are part of a new collaborative effort to help our local newsrooms address this growing crisis.

This initiative launched in May 2021 provides technology support, capacity building and additional funding to preserve and protect journalism and local newsrooms.

Microsoft selected Northeast Wisconsin as its fifth local news pilot in the United States as part of its Journalism initiative, donating a total of $300,000 to the Northeast Wisconsin Journalism Initiative Fund, established within the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, in partnership with the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region.

The region was selected in part because of a strong history of impact and collaboration by the two community foundations, local media, and TitletownTech’s partnership with the Green Bay Packers and Microsoft. As a three-year pilot effort, the community foundations are encouraging other organizations, businesses and individuals to also make supporting local journalism an important focus.

Meet the NEW News Lab Partners:

We are currently partnered with six news organizations: Fox Valley 365, The Post-Crescent, Green Bay Press Gazette, The Press Times, Wisconsin Public Radio and Wisconsin Watch, that will advance in-depth local reporting on topics such as racism as a public health crisis, lack of affordable housing, funding of local schools, or coverage of local judicial systems. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Journalism Department is an educational partner.  Read the full news release.

2021 Community Journalism Projects

NEW News Lab members will release stories supported by the partnership, which will be available for free publication by other news organizations across the state and nation.

Here are the NEW News Lab stories:

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Lack of affordable housing is crimping economy, hurting families – 6/02/21,Green Bay Press Gazette
Amber Edwards spent most of the last three years trying to find a place she could afford to live. In 2018, Edwards’ landlord told her the Green Bay duplex where she lived with her 2-year-old daughter and her daughter’s father had been sold and that the new owners planned to live there.  Read More

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Brown County Racial Equity Committee begins its two-year mission – 6/02/21, Fox Valley 365
The Brown County Central Library auditorium was filled with big ideas on Monday, May 24. Brown County’s Racial Equity Ad Hoc Committee convened for a second time this Monday to explore ways to address racial inequality in Northeast Wisconsin. In February, Brown County passed a resolution to declare racism a public health crisis. Read More

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Rising Referendums – School Funding 101 – 5/27/21, The Press Times
Wisconsin’s school funding structure is like a layer cake, with layers changing in size, shape and flavor from top to bottom. Under the current structure with revenue limits and funds based on enrollment, school districts find themselves with increasing regularity placing ballot questions before voters as the only way to fund everything from new construction to operational costs, such as employee compensation.  Read More

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Brown County is just the latest local government nationwide to address the health impacts of racism – 5/26/21, Fox Valley 365
By focusing on health outcomes, local officials hope to take more tangible action on the undeniable and persistent impacts of racism. While progress on eliminating racism can be elusive, the intention is to bring institutions and resources together to address this issue for what it is－a perpetual crisis. Read More

Go Big or Go Home: How Milwaukee set the stage for tackling racism as a public health crisis – 5/26/21, Fox Valley 365
Since 2019, more than 170 local governments including counties, cities, and community boards have declared racism to be a public health crisis. These declarations have led to responses such as increased funding, research, and coordination to improve health outcomes for communities of color. Read More

Learn more about Microsoft’s Corporate Social Responsibility.