Below is a non-exhaustive, in-progress list of organizations, events, and resources for people involved in community media, civic information work, and related efforts.
Groups & Gatherers
National Digital Inclusion Alliance
https://www.digitalinclusion.org/
The National Digital Inclusion Alliance advances digital equity by connecting organizations, supporting community programming, and equipping policymakers to act.
The Alliance for Digital Equity
https://alliancefordigitalequity.org/
The Alliance works collectively with 200+ community-based organizations to deploy digital equity programs including digital skills training, device distribution, affordable Internet solutions in order to assure equitable Internet access to all.
The Alliance for Community Media
https://allcommunitymedia.org/
The Alliance for Community Media is a national membership organization that advocates, promotes and preserves the right to media training, production, distribution, civic engagement and education in support of diverse community voices, through Public, Educational and Government Access channels and other forms of media.
Foundation of the Alliance for Community Media
https://allcommunitymedia.org/foundation
The Foundation of the Alliance for Community Media connects and advance the community media field by generating resources and visionary initiatives to build local power and voice in communities across the U.S.
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
Founded in 1975, NFCB is the oldest and largest national organization dedicated to community stations within the public media system. Our core services include: education and training; advocacy and representation; consulting; and facilitating peer-to-peer exchange through our listserv, strategic initiatives, and national conference.
Prometheus Radio Project
https://www.prometheusradio.org/
The Prometheus Radio Project builds participatory radio as a tool for social justice organizing and a voice for community expression. To that end, we demystify media policy and technology, advocate for a more just media system, and help grassroots organizations build communications infrastructure to strengthen their communities and movements.
Grassroots Radio Coalition
https://www.virtualgrc.org/about/
The Grassroots Radio Coalition is a coalition of community media activists. The GRC has a mailing list and holds a conference every year, but has so far not incorporated. There are no dues, no hierarchy and no bylaws.
Alliance of Rural Public Media
https://ruralpublic.org/about/
Ensuring that rural Americans continue to receive the essential daily local service that public radio provides.
American Coalition for Public Radio
We’re Fighting for The Future of Public Radio in America.
Association of Independents in Radio
AIR is a growing talent network of audio industry professionals integral to public media, journalism, podcasting and narrative storytelling.
Public Media Co.
https://publicmedia.co/
Our mission is to cultivate vibrant local media that informs, connects, and inspires communities. We believe that local media plays a vital role in community life, as a trusted source of news, education, music, and public discourse for people of all ages. We want every community across the country to be enriched by local media, and we want to be both a catalyst and facilitator of this vision.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit organization defending civil liberties in the digital world. Founded in 1990, EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. EFF's mission is to ensure that technology supports freedom, justice, and innovation for all people of the world.
Greater Public
Through bold leadership Greater Public inspires and empowers public media organizations to advance their missions by ensuring a sustainable financial future.
Center for Community-Engaged Media
The Center for Community-Engaged Media (CCEM), established in 2024, supports journalism, media, and civic information systems that center communities and encourage dialogue, and care.
Free Press
https://www.freepress.net/
Media and technology are essential to our democracy. We fight to ensure they’re used for justice.
Center for Media at Risk
The Center for Media at Risk is devoted to fostering free and critical media practice and scholarship.
New_ Public
New_ Public strives to ensure that every community has a healthy digital public space.
Brechner Freedom of Information Project
The Joseph L. Brechner Freedom of Information Project at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications envisions a nation where journalists and citizens can acquire the civic information they need to better their lives, demand accountable government, create a just society, and protect democracy and the republic.
Regional/State Organizations
MassAccess
Our goal is to ensure the future vitality of Massachusetts based community media centers by developing educational workshops, monitoring legislation, utilizing technology to inform and enhance community media centers, as well as acting as government liaisons to inform supporters across Massachusetts regarding the current political landscape in regards to media.
Narrative Arts
We collaborate with artists, journalists, and community organizations to produce reporting, podcasts, public programs, and participatory projects that strengthen civic life and build grassroots power. Our work focuses on culture, power, and community, with deep roots in coastal North Carolina and the broader South.
Journalism
Prison Journalism Project
https://prisonjournalismproject.org/
An independent journalism organization that aims to create the first nationwide network of prison journalists.
Institute for Journalism and Natural Resources
The mission of the Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources is to help journalists understand and report on the intersections between society and the environment.
Press Forward
https://www.pressforward.news/
Press Forward is a network with chapters nationwide, working to strengthen local news so communities stay informed, connected and engaged.
OpenNews
We help people strengthen relationships across organizations and build a more equitable future for journalism. Through interactive events and programs, we help peers share knowledge and care for a community grappling with complex problems.
Trans Journalists Association
https://www.transjournalists.org/
The Trans Journalists Association is a professional membership organization that promotes accurate, nuanced coverage of trans rights and communities in the media and fosters the careers of gender-expansive journalists.
News Creators Corps
By developing talent and community among creators, we are creating new information pipelines to safeguard democracy and dramatically increase the volume of fact-based, locally-centered civic education content online.
Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media
Housed in the UNC-Chapel Hill Hussman School of Journalism and Media, CISLM is a nonprofit working to grow a more equitable and sustainable future for local news, the journalists who make it and the communities that need it through the intersection of research, education and practice.
Tiny News Collective
We make journalism entrepreneurship a more accessible, equitable and inclusive opportunity for people who care about their community.
Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
AEJMC is a nonprofit, educational association of journalism and mass communication educators, students and media professionals.
Journalism + Design Lab
Using a systems perspective and design strategies, the J+D Lab develops emergent models for strengthening the flow of reliable local news and information.
LION: Local Independent Online News Publishers
LION Publishers strengthens the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses. We focus primarily on the business side of news entrepreneurship, as many other support organizations exist to help publishers level up their journalism skills.
Greater Community Media
https://www.greatercommunitymedia.com/
Greater Community Media is a non-profit created to support people to build healthier media ecosystems, through developing more sustainable community-centred media projects and organisations.
The Reinventing Local TV News Project
https://tvresearch.sites.northeastern.edu/
The Reinventing Local TV News Project at Northeastern University is bridging the gap between communities and local newsrooms by analyzing viewer behaviors and introducing innovative video storytelling techniques aimed at younger audiences for increased civic engagement.
Listening Post Collective
https://listeningpostcollective.org/
We partner with communities to develop the locally driven news and information solutions they need to thrive.
Solutions Journalism Network
https://www.solutionsjournalism.org/
The Solutions Journalism Network is leading a global shift in journalism focused on advancing rigorous reporting about how people are trying to solve problems and what we can learn from their successes and failures.
Regional/State Journalism Organizations
Press Pass NYC
Providing NYC Public Schools the Free Tools to Start and Sustain Student Journalism Programs. New York City’s only student news publication accelerator.
New Jersey Civic Information Consortium
https://njcivicinfo.org/
The New Jersey Civic Information Consortium invests in local news and information to strengthen communities across the Garden State.
Gulf States Newsroom
https://www.wbhm.org/gulfstatesnewsroom/
The Gulf States Newsroom is a collaboration among public radio stations in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, & NPR.
Libraries
Library Fututres
https://www.libraryfutures.net/
Library Futures mobilizes a community of experts to encourage the adoption of technologies that uplift libraries in the digital age, promoting new possibilities for preservation of and unfettered access to information.
Urban Libraries Council
https://www.urbanlibraries.org/
The Urban Libraries Council is dedicated to strengthening and advancing the essential role of public libraries as dynamic, accessible places for opportunity, learning and innovation. We connect public library leaders and drive transformative change to enrich the lives of individuals and urban communities across North America.
Publications
Semipublic
Public media is at a crossroads. Let's take a data-based look at what happens next.
Current
News and analysis for people working in public media, helping them and their organizations succeed and grow.
Conferences
Alliance for Community Media Annual Conference
https://allcommunitymedia.org/
Grassroots Radio Conference
SRCCON
SRCCON events are for people who want to transform the ways journalism and tech work in their organizations and communities.
Public Media Growth Conference
AEJMC Conference (Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication)
Next City Vanguard
https://nextcity.org/vanguard/apply
The Vanguard conference welcomes entrepreneurs, community developers, activists, artists, designers, urban planners and sustainability experts — anyone committed to improving cities. Vanguard is a unique opportunity to meet rising urban leaders working to improve cities across sectors. Learn “How Vanguards Are Making Cities More Equitable,” in our curated ebook that shows us examples of how the urban leaders who have participated in the conference are ensuring equity for all.
Regional/State Conferences
MA Digital Navigators Annual Conference
https://alliancefordigitalequity.org/massdna/
Archives
American Archive of Public Broadcasting
A collaboration between the Library of Congress and GBH to identify, preserve, and make public media accessible.
Archiving the Black Web
https://www.archivingtheblackweb.org/
Archiving the Black Web (ATBW) was founded as a call to action to establish a more equitable and accessible web archiving practice in the United States to better document the Black experience online. The expansive use of the web and social media by Black people presents significant opportunities and responsibilities for collecting institutions interested in documenting the Black experience online.
Reports
Regional/State Reports
Public Media Ecosystem Report
https://njcivicinfo.org/ecosystem-report/
Examining the current state of public media and civic information in New Jersey and exploring approaches for strengthening the state's information ecosystem.
Manifestos
A Manifesto for Greater Community Media
Funders
Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group
Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group identifies, elevates and invests in emerging media & journalism ventures led by diverse and visionary founders.
The Pivot Fund
The Pivot Fund empowers independent, community-rooted news outlets serving under-resourced urban and rural areas. We provide funding and support that strengthen local news and build a more inclusive democracy.
Grants for Journalists
https://grantsforjournalists.com
This site connects independent journalists, staff reporters and newsrooms with a range of funding opportunities.
Media Impact Funders
https://mediaimpactfunders.org/
MIF supports funders across a fragmented and rapidly changing media ecosystem with convenings, research and a highly collaborative community.
Regional/State Funders
People’s Media Fund
https://www.peoplesmediafund.org/
The People's Media Fund is moving resources within the Philadelphia region toward community-owned media and internet, and catalyzing movements for justice through narratives that educate, inspire, and encourage action toward a more liberatory future.
Fellowships
RJI Professional Innovation Fellowships
https://rjionline.org/about-rji-fellowships/
The Reynolds Journalism Institute invites proposals from individuals and organizations who wish to build practical and innovative resources for community-centered news, journalists and the communities they serve.
Civic Media Fellowship
The Civic Media Fellowship, based at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab with amazing support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, empowers artists, creators, storytellers, innovators, organizers, strategists and others working at the intersections of media, technology and culture to further hone their practice through eight months of exploration and collaboration with a dynamic, diverse, and amazing cohort of Fellows.