For five years now, the Institute for Nonprofit News has produce an annual report on the nonprofit news sector. Their 2022 report shows that independent local news is growing strongly. Here are 3 key points from the report:
Since 2017, more than 135 nonprofit news outlets have launched. The number of newsrooms in the INN Network has doubled over the past four years and now exceeds 400 independent news organizations.
More than half of the news outlets that have launched since 2017 are local. Today, roughly 4 in 10 nonprofit news organizations are local, up from about 2 in 10 in 2017.
Nonprofit news is driving sustained, multi-year revenue growth. Two-thirds of news outlets surveyed increased their revenue, with a median of 25% growth during the last four years.
WordPress is the dominant platform for this local news growth. WordPress-powered publishers in this year’s report include Dallas Free Press, Charlottesville Tomorrow, Canopy Atlanta, The Daily Yonder, and more.
The 2022 report also includes a shout-out for the popular Newspack platform:
The Daily Yonder launched a radio program in August 2021 that’s now broadcast by an average of 250 stations per week. Digitally, Daily Yonder continues to use a republication tool developed by INN and managed by NewsPack – a widget that has brought Daily Yonder stories to an additional 480,000 readers each month, a multiplier effect from the outlet’s previous on-site reach.
Click here to find the republication tool on WordPress.org. You can see the plugin in use by clicking the example “Republish this Story” button on this Daily Yonder story.
