Since 2023, Press Forward has built a network of 44 local chapters, made up of over 130+ funders who have already invested more than $400 million to expand access to local news. Press Forward Locals are funder-led coalitions that are rooted in the understanding that strong communities and strong local news go hand in hand. By bringing together media leaders, funders, and community partners, the initiative aims to strengthen the sustainability of local journalism.
A Region this BIG...
deserves news that keeps up
Dallas-Fort Worth is the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States, now home to more than 8 million people and adding roughly 340 new residents every single day. If the Metroplex were a state, it would be more populous than 38 of them!
4th
Largest U.S. Metro
8M+
People
+340
New Residents Daily
News Deserts and Deficits in North Texas
North Texas is not one community — it's hundreds. From the historically underserved neighborhoods of South and West Dallas to the more than one million residents of Fort Worth, to the rapidly diversifying suburbs of Collin and Denton counties and the boomtowns of Celina and Princeton, our region's information needs are as varied as its people.
Yet as our region has boomed, its local newsrooms have shrunk, consolidated, or disappeared altogether. Coverage gaps have opened up across neighborhoods and suburbs where growth has outpaced the journalism meant to serve it.
When a community loses its local news, it loses more than headlines. It loses the connective tissue that holds it together. Where local news is strong, communities are more informed, more connected, and better able to solve problems together. Closing that gap is the work of Press Forward North Texas.
Our Approach
Guided by the values of the national Press Forward network, we focus our work where it matters most for North Texas.
Convene
Catalyze and convene funders, local news providers, business, and civic leaders around shared goals and outcomes to support the region’s information ecosystem, creating opportunities for sharing resources and ideas, while building relationships and trust.
Invest
Actively champion and advocate investments in local newsrooms and reporters across North Texas, with focusing on the places and populations that are most underserved, while also encouraging investments that align and complement vs. compete
Advocate
Advocate across North Texas that trustworthy local information is essential community infrastructure and worthy of the same investment and protection as any other public good.
Champion
Champion and recruit opportunities for local media organization to support sustainability and deepen community impact, including best practices that can be implemented locally and adapted to meet the stated needs of North Texas communities.
Press Forward North Texas is guided by a Steering Committee of regional philanthropic and civic leaders who share a commitment to a well-informed North Texas. Together, they bring deep roots in the community and a shared belief that strong local news is foundational to the region's future.
Steering Committee
BEN LEAL
President
The Addy Foundation
KIM DAVIS
President
The Carl B. and Florence E.
King Foundation
CAROLYN MENTESANA
Executive Director
Arlington Tomorrow Foundation
ALEXANDER HAJ
Program Officer, Philanthropic Services
Communities Foundation of Texas
KAREN COOPERSTEIN
President
Crater Lake Consulting
Support Local News
in North Texas.
Press Forward North Texas is a movement to ensure every community across North Texas has access to trusted news and vital civic information through strengthening our local news ecosystem. We welcome the chance to share our work, learn what matters to you, and explore how we can partner in this movement to protect democracy and our First Amendment rights of Freedom of the Press.
CONTACT
Wende Burton, Director
Email: [javascript protected email address]
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