Press Forward

MacArthur Foundation president John Palfrey has said that Press Forward a means of strengthening “American democracy” by developing the knowledge of American voters. ¹

As of October 2025, the initiative alleges to have moved $400 million in grants through 110 funders. ²

Activities

According to an initial press release by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announcing Press Forward’s creation in September 2023, the foundation claimed there is “a crisis in news and information” due to the closure of local news outlets across the United States. The release argued that between 2005 and 2023, 2,200 local newspapers have shut down. Press Forward further claimed that such closures would result in “fading civic engagement, eroding social bonds, surging misinformation, and dwindling governmental accountability.” ^{3 4}

Press Forward was created to provide up to $500 million in grants to local news organizations over a five-year period. In addition to supporting the operations and expansions of these outlets, the grants will attempt to “close longstanding inequalities in journalism” by increasing “the availability of accurate and responsive news and information in historically underserved communities and economically challenged news deserts.” ⁴ Press Forward’s website lists “equity and diversity of thought” as part of “Our Vision.” ⁵

Press Forward’s “journalism initiative” would fund specific journalists and journalistic projects. ⁶

Press Forward has previously advocated for political policy changes it argued would support local news outlets such as making local news subscriptions tax deductible. ⁷

As of October 2025, the initiative alleges to have moved $400 million in grants through 110 funders. ²

In March 2026, Elizabeth Hansen Shapiro, the co-founder of National Trust for Local News (NTLN), released a report titled “Rebuilding Local Journalism at Scale: A Field-Level Analysis of Infrastructure Needs,” in which she discussed how Press Forward had received 559 proposals for funding towards news-based infrastructure. Commissioned by Arnold Ventures and published by Media Impact Funders, the report also sorted the proposals into 11 “problem domains” to advocate what was alleged to be methods of growing local news publishers into “sustainable enterprises.” ⁸

Funding

Press Forward is a fiscally sponsored project of the Miami Foundation, which hires staff and oversees Press Forward’s fund. Miami Foundation President Rebecca Fishman Lipsey called Press Forward “one of the most important philanthropic collaborations of our generation.” ^{9 10}

At its launch, the largest funder of Press Forward was the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation ($175 million) followed by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation ($150 million). ⁹ Donors can either give to the pooled fund managed by the Miami Foundation or make grants directly to local news outlets through Press Forward. ¹¹

Press Forward had 22 funders by September 2023, ^{12 4} which included Archewell, the Democracy Fund, the Ford Foundation, the Heising-Simons Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Joyce Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, the McKnight Foundation, the Rita Allen Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. ¹³ The Carnegie Corporation of New York announced a $5 million donation on September 8, 2023. ¹²

As of October 2025, the initiative alleges to have moved $400 million in grants through 110 funders. ²