The Austin Free Press is a proposed left-of-center news media outlet to be launched in 2024 and affiliated with the left-of-center Institute for Nonprofit News. The publication is operated by a non-profit and was granted provisional member status by the Institute for Nonprofit News.

The organization listed as the publisher of the Austin Free Press, the Center for Austin Independent Journalism, was granted tax-exempt status in 2020 and was initially registered at an address owned by Bill Bunch, a Texas environmental attorney and activist. As of March 2024, the Austin Free Press had not launched as a publication but was soliciting donors on its website, which reported an impending launch. The publication posted a job description for a founding editor in February 2024. ^{1 2 3 4 5 6}  

Background

The Austin Free Press launched a website in early 2024 that contained limited information, identifying the group as an “independent community news project.” While the website gave no indication of the publication launch date, the website included an email sign-up link for readers to be alerted when the publication would be launched and a donate page that stated: “We are launching a nonprofit news and community engagement platform to empower Austinites through independent reporting, diverse opinions, and civil dialogue.” ^{7 8 9}

The Austin Free Press donation page is operated by the News Revenue Hub, a left-of-center nonprofit organization that provides support services to left-of-center journalism organizations and projects. The News Revenue Hub has received funding from left-of-center groups including the Democracy Fund, the Google News Initiative, and the Knight Foundation, and provides similar services to dozens of similar local and national left-of-center media organizations. ¹⁰

In 2024, the group posted a job description for a founding editor of the Austin Free Press, seeking an individual to lead the organization and assemble a reporting staff. The posting promoted the job as  a “chance to work with and lead a talented and passionate team of journalists and freelance partners as well as a mission-driven Board President to start,” though the identity of the group’s leadership is not known. ¹¹

The Austin Free Press is listed as a provisional member of the Institute for Nonprofit News, a left-of-center media nonprofit that funds and operates a variety of state-level liberal news outlets and is associated with national left-of-center and socialist publications such as Mother Jones. ¹²

Center for Austin Independent Journalism

The Austin Free Press’s website states that its 501(c)(3) parent organization is the Center for Austin Independent Journalism, a nonprofit organization granted tax-exempt status in 2020. ^{13 14} According to the IRS’s Exempt Organization Search, the organization filed the E-Postcard for organizations reporting less than $50,000 in gross receipts in 2019, 2020, and 2022. ¹⁵

A registration from the organization lists the center’s address at a home owned by Bill Bunch, an Austin-based environmental attorney and activist who has worked on behalf of the Sierra Club, Hill Country Foundation, Travis Audubon Society, Texas Rivers Protection Association, Texas Center for Policy Studies, and San Marcos River Foundation. Bunch is most active and known in the Austin area for being the executive director of the Save our Springs Alliance, a group that “has been deeply involved in protecting Barton Springs and other major springs of the Edwards Aquifer” and is known for “pressing for development and enforcement of water quality ordinances, listing of endangered and threatened species, shifting development to less sensitive sites, acquiring conservation lands, and promoting environmental education.” ^{16 17 18}

1. “Austin Free Press Donate Page.” News Revenue Hub. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austin-free-press.fundjournalism.org/afp/
2. “Home.” Austin Free Press. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austinfreepress.org/
3. “Home.” Austin Free Press. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austinfreepress.org/contact/
4. “Bill Bunch.” Austin Legacy Project. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://texaslegacy.org/narrator/bill-bunch/
5. “Center for Austin Independent Journalism.” Charity Navigator. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/841828337
6. “Property Search.” Travis County. Query Conducted March 15, 2024. https://travis.prodigycad.com/property-search
7. “Austin Free Press Donate Page.” News Revenue Hub. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austin-free-press.fundjournalism.org/afp/
8. “Home.” Austin Free Press. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austinfreepress.org/
9. “Home.” Austin Free Press. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austinfreepress.org/contact/
10. “Home.” News Revenue Hub. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://fundjournalism.org/
11. “Founding Editor: Austin Free Press.” Institute for Nonprofit News. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://inn.org/job/founding-editor/
12. “Nonprofit news continues growth trajectory: new members join INN.” Institute for Nonprofit News. February 23, 2024. Accessed March 14, 2024. https://inn.org/news/nonprofit-news-continues-growth-trajectory-new-members-join-inn/
13. “Center for Austin Independent Journalism.” Charity Navigator. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/841828337
14. “Austin Free Press Donate Page.” News Revenue Hub. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://austin-free-press.fundjournalism.org/afp/
15. IRS Exempt Organization Search, Center for Austin Independent Journalism (EIN 84-1828337).
16. “Bill Bunch.” Austin Legacy Project. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://texaslegacy.org/narrator/bill-bunch/
17. “Center for Austin Independent Journalism.” Charity Navigator. Accessed March 15, 2024. https://www.charitynavigator.org/ein/841828337
18. “Property Search.” Travis County. Query Conducted March 15, 2024. https://travis.prodigycad.com/property-search