Want to know who was elected to city council? Which team won the high school football game? Which roads are closed for construction? Just open the local paper or tune into the local radio station.
But what if your town has no media outlet? That’s the position many communities are in today, and it’s why the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque’s partnership with the national organization Press Forward is so important. As Press Forward’s Northeast Iowa chapter, the Community Foundation is opening access to funding that directly supports local news and information in our region.
“Local news plays an important role in building strong communities,” says Nancy Van Milligen, president and CEO of the Community Foundation. “Through this partnership, we are ensuring that fair, accurate and well-reported stories always have a home in the Dubuque region.”
Challenging Times, New Opportunities
The shift to digital media has been devastating to news outlets across the United States, with large tech companies eating into advertising revenue that traditionally has sustained local journalism. Rural and underserved communities, where the local paper is often the primary source of information about important topics, have been hardest hit. Many outlets have closed, merged with other papers, or been bought out by hedge funds that have stripped cash from operations.
There’s good news, though. Recognizing that engaged and informed communities are strong communities, community foundations have stepped in to support a new model for funding local media outlets.
Bridging Funding Gaps
By partnering with Press Forward, the Community Foundation is at the forefront of a movement to revitalize local news and information. The Foundation serves as a hub that can mobilize resources and host funds that meet the needs of local communities. To date, it has raised more than $1 million that directly supports local journalism in Northeast Iowa.
While declining ad revenue has forced media outlets locally and nationally to make cuts to their newsroom staff, the Community Foundation’s Local Journalism Support Fund has helped make up for some of that lost revenue and enable outlets to fill reporter positions.
Today, the fund directly supports the salaries of reporters in our region. As the fund grows through donations and grants, it has the potential to increase support for local news and initiatives that help share community information.
A New Generation of Journalists
As a Press Forward chapter, the Community Foundation also supports journalists in training. Students from Dubuque and other Iowa communities recently received scholarships from the Gary Dolphin Journalism Grant Fund, which the Iowa broadcast legend started with the Foundation.
Five high school and college students from Iowa received scholarships:
- Lindsay Beyer of Independence
- Samantha Kane of Dubuque
- Ali Olechowski of Dubuque
- Jace Holz of Dubuque
- Noah Sever of Pleasant Hill
The Gary Dolphin Journalism Grant Fund was established to support high school and college students pursuing their educational goals in journalism and related fields, reflecting Dolphin’s own commitment to the Iowa community he has served throughout his broadcasting career.
Open to students from Iowa, Southwest Wisconsin, and Northwest Illinois, the scholarship supports those pursuing degrees in journalism, broadcasting, communications, marketing or public relations. It provides scholarships to current and prospective college students in these fields, as well as stipends to current students majoring in one of these areas who intern at a local news and information outlet.
“Empowering communities is core to our mission,” says Mary Jo Jean-Francois, Vice President of Impact at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque. “Ensuring that communities have access to accurate local news and information is key to ensuring people are empowered to make decisions that affect the well-being of the places they call home.”
Learn more about the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque’s role as Northeast Iowa’s Press Forward chapter at Dbqfoundation.org/pressforward.
This article is made possible by a partnership between Julien’s Journal and the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.
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