American Journalism Project
- Independent Times News
- Feb 1
- 4 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
The Quiet Crisis: America’s Growing News Deserts
We are living through a quiet crisis in America: our backyards are becoming news deserts. Over the last two decades, the old-school commercial advertising model that funded local newspapers for a century has completely collapsed. More than 3,300 newspapers have closed, and our communities are losing an average of 2 papers each week.
When a town loses its local newspaper, it loses far more than just a familiar morning read with coffee. It loses its eyes and ears on local power. Research is pretty clear on what happens next: when reporters stop covering town halls, school boards, and statehouse decisions, people vote less, attend fewer meetings, and pay less attention to what their local government is actually doing. Corruption gets easier to hide. Taxpayer money gets wasted more often. And the political divide between neighbors grows even deeper.
The American Journalism Project (AJP) was launched in 2019 to change that trajectory. As the nation's first venture philanthropy firm dedicated entirely to local news, AJP treats public-service journalism not as a failing commercial business, but as a critical public good.
Moving Beyond The Negative Narrative
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., but operating nationwide, AJP doesn't just hand out charitable checks. It applies an investor's mindset to non-profit news, providing multi-year grants, operational coaching, and tech support to help digital-first newsrooms build sustainable, long-term business models.
By mid-2026, AJP has raised over $243 million and backed more than 50 non-profit news organizations across 37 states and Puerto Rico.
Speaking to local news leaders, AJP Chief Executive Officer Sarabeth Berman emphasized that this isn't about sustaining a dying medium, but building a brand-new civic movement:
"This is not the story of a dying industry. It is the story of a country choosing to rebuild its civic life — one newsroom, one community at a time... Non-profit local news is now beyond the proof-of-concept phase: It works. And the organizations in our portfolio are operating with a level of ambition that is reshaping what local news can mean."
Case Study: Signal Ohio
AJP doesn't just fund established digital outlets looking to scale; they actively incubate new startups in regions where local reporting has vanished.
One of AJP's biggest success stories is Signal Ohio, a non-profit news network that covers local communities in Cleveland and Akron.
Instead of relying only on traditional reporters, Signal Ohio does something entirely different: they created a program that trains and pays everyday residents to attend public city meetings. These regular citizens attend school board meetings, town halls, and zoning board meetings, take detailed notes on how local tax dollars are being spent, and publish them online for the public to see.
Because Signal Ohio is a non-profit, everything they publish is completely free to read, and any other local newspaper or website is welcome to copy and share their stories. By turning community members into the eyes and ears of their own towns, they are making it easier for people to trust the news again.
The 2026 Landscape
As local news struggles to survive in this hyper-digital world, the American Journalism Project has teamed up with OpenAI to figure out how artificial intelligence can safely help newsrooms work smarter. But even with that partnership, AJP's heart remains deeply human.
In a country drowning in national political noise and social media outrage, Sarabeth Berman sees things differently. The CEO of the American Journalism Project believes the real future of journalism isn't flashy national headlines or chasing algorithm clicks. It's in the steady, often thankless work of local reporters who show up to school board meetings and city council votes, and who cover the everyday stories that shape people's actual lives in their own communities.
"We lionize the reporter who exposes corruption, topples the powerful, and publishes the story against all odds. That work remains essential. But there's another kind of heroism that we rarely spotlight: the local journalist who shows up day after day to report on what's happening in our neighborhoods, schools, and city halls. The journalist who is helping stitch their community back together."
Frequently Asked Questions About AJP
1. How does AJP decide which non-profit news organizations to support?
They look for strong local leadership, a clear community focus, and a realistic plan to become sustainable. Most grants are invitation-only and go through a competitive process with proposals, financial reviews, and interviews.
2. What metrics does AJP use to measure success?
They track revenue growth in their portfolio, which hit $128 million in 2024, with 23% year-over-year growth, along with increases in full-time staff and stronger community impact through better local reporting and engagement.
3. How is AJP integrating AI while keeping it human-centered?
Through their Product & AI Studio (partnered with OpenAI), they help newsrooms use AI for tasks like transcribing meetings, data analysis, and multilingual translation, always to support journalists, never replace them.
Support the Movement
The American Journalism Project represents a massive, necessary bet on the idea that an informed public is the bedrock of a healthy democracy. Their initial data shows that for every dollar invested in a newsroom's business capacity, local teams can double their budgets and hire more reporters to hold power to account.
Want to browse the different newsrooms they support, read their hard-hitting investigative stories, or figure out how you can help independent journalism in your own community? Just head over to the American Journalism Project at theajp.org.
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