The Robert R. McCormick Foundation has awarded a $3.6 million grant to Northwestern University's Medill Local News Initiative. This three-year grant aims to enhance local news and scholastic journalism in Illinois by establishing a shared services hub for Chicago news outlets.
This new hub, funded through the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, will offer expert assistance and infrastructure support to regional news organizations. It will address needs such as consumer research, audience strategy, product development, revenue diversification, and legal services.
The initiative is an extension of Medill’s Metro Media Lab and Local News Accelerator programs, which have supported over two dozen news organizations since 2020. "We’re grateful to the McCormick Foundation for its continued investment," said Charles Whitaker, dean of Medill. "This new shared services hub will help us provide much-needed resources to Chicago-area news outlets."
Timothy P. Knight, president and CEO of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation stated that this grant aligns with their mission to promote informed civic engagement and ensure government accountability. "We are enthusiastic that our continuing partnership with Medill advances this goal by strengthening local coverage," he added.
The funding will also aid the ongoing work of the Medill Illinois News Bureau in partnership with Capitol News Illinois (CNI). This collaboration involves Medill students providing state government coverage from Springfield and Chicago for distribution across 700 news outlets in Illinois and nearby states.
Additionally, the Medill Solutions Journalism Hub is part of this initiative, working with more than 50 partner organizations on solutions journalism projects across the Midwest. The Teach for Chicago Journalism Program continues its efforts to enhance scholastic journalism in area high schools.
These programs aim to bolster a local news ecosystem facing significant challenges. Research from the Medill State of Local News Project indicates a troubling trend: about 2.5 newspapers close each week in the U.S., leaving millions without access to local news.
Despite these challenges, Chicago's media landscape remains relatively robust compared to other regions but still requires expertise and audience research for sustainability. Since April 2018, the Local News Initiative has provided insights into trends affecting local news sustainability through various grants and donations.