Lenfest Institute for Journalism

✨ Excited to see my first story published for the Lenfest Institute for Journalism, a how-to story for funders interested investing in non-traditional news sources or creators. I was able to get input from Shawn Mooring at Lenfest about their social ambassadors program at Every Voice, Every Vote, along with Will Holden at Gary Community Ventures, Ayinde Merrill, MPA at the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium and Lizzy Hazeltine at the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund. Some important steps in this process: 🔍 Do your research or find a knowledgeable consultant. 🥾 Get out in the community and leverage your networks. 📈 Be sure to track metrics and impact. 👐🏽 Open-mindedness is key. “The ongoing invitation for funders is to see how many different types of organizations together can reach and serve our communities, and to fund a wide-ranging group of organizations patiently over time.” -Lizzy Hazeltine #creators #funding #bestpractices https://lnkd.in/ga-qaq8x

💸📊 How are the latest fundraising trends impacting your newsroom? The Chronicle of Philanthropy is partnering with the Lenfest Institute for Journalism to host a free workshop on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 2:30 p.m. EDT. Join us to learn insights from the broader philanthropic field — including details on donor trends, tax laws, and more — and how you can apply them to fundraising for journalism. The Chronicle will also share highlights from the Philanthropy & Nonprofit Accountability Fellowship, a program it organizes in partnership with The Associated Press and The Conversation, to support local newsrooms covering philanthropy in their communities. ➕ Plus, all session attendees will receive a discount on subscriptions to the Chronicle. Register today! https://lnkd.in/e7wGkSTK

Publishers are creating AI tools to support the work of their employees — and are already seeing results. As part of the Lenfest AI Collaborative and Fellowship Program, in partnership with OpenAI and Microsoft, the fellows have already tested and launched: 🔎 An archive search tool that can help reporters sort through thousands of news archives in seconds, consolidating previously disjointed digital archives and giving reporters more time to focus on crafting their stories. 🍔 An interactive restaurant guide sorted by cuisine type, neighborhood, dietary needs, amenities, and more. Rather than searching through a static list, users can get up-to-date recommendations across criteria like “is this restaurant kid-friendly?” or “are there vegan options?” 💸 An ad sales tool that transforms prospect research from an hours-long process into one that takes minutes, giving sales teams more opportunities to connect with potential customers. The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Minnesota Star Tribune, and The Seattle Times shared overviews of these projects — along with open source code to help other newsrooms create similar tools. Head to the comments for the links 👇

💸📊 How are the latest fundraising trends impacting your newsroom? The Lenfest News Philanthropy Network is hosting a free workshop on Thursday, Oct. 16 at 2:30 p.m. EDT / 11:30 a.m. PDT featuring The Chronicle of Philanthropy. Join us to learn insights from the broader philanthropic field — including details on donor trends, tax laws, and more — and how you can apply them to fundraising for journalism. The Chronicle will also share highlights from the Philanthropy & Nonprofit Accountability Fellowship, a program it organizes in partnership with The Associated Press, to support local newsrooms covering philanthropy in their communities. As a bonus, all session attendees will receive a discount on subscriptions to The Chronicle of Philanthropy.

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Our partners and fellows are redefining what journalism can be. 👏 Huge shout-out to The Minnesota Star Tribune and our AI fellows Dana Chiueh 👩🏻💻 and Brian Prichard. Poynter Institute recently highlighted how the Star Tribune used AI to 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 when it mattered most. In times of crisis, when facts shift by the minute, innovation can be the difference between meaningful context and noise. The Star Tribune story reminds us that new tools are most powerful when guided by 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆, 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝘀, 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. I am especially proud of all our news partners and fellows, who navigate that same tension every day with the support of OpenAI, Microsoft, and Lenfest Institute for Journalism. They: + 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗹𝘆 with new technologies and data approaches while staying anchored in mission. + 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁, especially when introducing disruptive tools. + 𝗧𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁, uncovering stories that matter, strengthening local ecosystems, expanding access, and shining light into blind spots. The challenges are hard and the incentives are messy. Yet our fellows and partners are building a bridge between tomorrow’s tools and today’s accountability. 💬 If you have seen an example of 𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 making a difference, share it below. The Lenfest AI Collaborative is the largest AI-for-journalism initiative focused on business sustainability. We embed technical fellows in 10 large metro-scale news organizations that have the audience reach and engineering talent to create tools that others can adopt. This unrivaled program is accelerating AI’s responsible use across editorial, business, and audience operations by codeveloping tools with leading technology partners OpenAI and Microsoft. Our news partners include, not only The Minnesota Star Tribune, but also: + Baltimore Banner + Boston Globe Media + Chicago Public Media + Newsday Media Group + NEWSWELL at Arizona State University + ProPublica + The Dallas Morning News + The Philadelphia Inquirer + The Seattle Times Thank you, Tom Rubin, Varun Shetty, Christina Lim, Yiren Lu, David Duxin Ginny Badanes, Anna Roth, Jennifer Marsman, Nikki Freeman, Jim Friedlich, Tristan Loper, Tesnim Z., and the teams at OpenAI, Microsoft, and Lenfest, for making this program and its impact a reality. #AI #GenAI #LocalNews #Media #Journalism #Technology #Strategy #Innovation

“Yes, journalism is a craft. Yes, it’s a business. But more than anything, it’s a people practice.” The importance of connection was top-of-mind for Meena Thiruvengadam, our Lenfest Audience Community facilitator, at #ONA25 earlier this month. For news practitioners looking to continue their work in the long-term, having peers to lean on makes all the difference.     Meena shared her reflections from ONA — on community, creators, connecting with your audiences, and more. And if you’re looking for continued opportunities to grow your network and collaborate across the industry, she also shared details on how to join the Lenfest Audience Community 👇

💡 What happens when local newsrooms get direct access to AI talent + tools? We have been testing exactly that at The Lenfest Institute for Journalism AI Collaborative & Fellowship Program. In partnership with OpenAI + Microsoft, 10 major news organizations have hired two-year AI fellows to build real newsroom solutions. Early projects already live: 📰 The Philadelphia Inquirer: AI archive research assistant 📊 The Seattle Times: AI ad sales prospecting agent 🎙️ Chicago Public Media: Multilingual transcription + translation 🍽️ The Minnesota Star Tribune: launching an AI-driven restaurant finder and sharing the source code for their underlying "Agate" framework 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: Local journalism is under huge pressure. This program is a model for how AI can strengthen, not replace, the mission of journalism by transparently fueling sustainability, collaboration, and innovation. 👉 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂:  How should AI be applied in industries where trust and mission matter most? 🔗 𝗙𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: You'll find case studies, projects, guides, code, and more. https://lnkd.in/g2vnFXqC The Lenfest AI Collaborative & Fellowship cohort includes: + Baltimore Banner + Boston Globe Media + Chicago Public Media + DallasNews Corporation + Newsday Media Group + NEWSWELL at Arizona State University + ProPublica + The Minnesota Star Tribune + The Philadelphia Inquirer + The Seattle Times Gratitude to these organizations for their openness and collaborative spirit as well as their fellows: Aaron Brezel, Brian Prichard, Dana Chiueh 👩🏻💻, Kevin Hoffman, Mark Chonofsky, Omar Reid, Paulino Daniel Ramírez Torres, Rajesh B., and Shanni You.

A state-funded fellowship program in New Mexico has grown from 3 reporters to 8 in 2025 - creating a pipeline of new journalists and more investment for local news. via Sarah Gustavus Lim, Lenfest Institute for Journalism cc New Mexico Local News Fund and The University of New Mexico https://lnkd.in/eE9e3sty

Happening this Thursday! Join us at 2 p.m. EDT / 11 a.m. PDT on Sept. 25 for a discussion on how journalists can better serve their communities and produce reporting that leads to meaningful, measurable impact 👇

We are thrilled to welcome The Lenfest Institute for Journalism as our newest affiliate member! “The Lenfest Institute is deeply aligned with PNA’s mission to strengthen Pennsylvania’s news ecosystem,” said Tristan Loper, head of national programs at The Lenfest Institute. “Through our programs, we’re committed to helping independent local news organizations thrive,” Loper added. “This year alone, we expect to provide more than $800,000 in grant funding, along with access to Communities of Practice and one-on-one advising. These resources—paired with the insights we’ve gained from supporting publishers nationwide—are designed to help news organizations like the members of PNA build sustainable businesses and continue serving their communities for the long term.” Read more in our recent member spotlight: https://lnkd.in/e4P_6gbT Learn more about The Lenfest Institute for Journalism at https://lnkd.in/gh8EMPZ2 #PNA #PAnewsmedia #PNA100 #LenfestInstitute #Journalism #LocalNews