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Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund

The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund was a joint venture of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism

A man speaks wearing a N.I.C.E. T-shirt

With a focus on sustainability and equity, The Knight-Lenfest Local News Transformation Fund was designed to strengthen local journalism at scale by supporting journalistic excellence and serving the information needs of communities. The Knight-Lenfest Fund collaborated with news organizations, leaders and communities to grow capacity and meet journalism’s technology, business, and audience realities of the future. It was rooted in the belief that journalism is at its best when it is of service. The Knight-Lenfest Fund was a joint venture of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism.

Together, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism invested $20 million to support the fund from its founding in 2019 through 2023.

Knight-Lenfest Fund initiatives

The Knight-Lenfest Fund has supported the following efforts:

Table Stakes Local News Transformation Program

The Table Stakes program advances innovations in local journalism through intensive change-management training for news leaders. Participants learn key skills needed for news publishers to thrive in the digital era. The metaphor of “table stakes” alludes to the capacities publishers must have to be “in the game” of contemporary news publishing, and the program identifies specific skills and abilities news organizations must master to thrive.

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Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange

The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange is a community-grounded accelerator program supporting BIPOC media entrepreneurs through training, one-on-one coaching, and grantmaking. The Philadelphia Media Founders Exchange focuses specifically on the urgent need and opportunity to support and advance more media entrepreneurs of color to ensure communities prosper and news businesses thrive and grow sustainably on their own terms.

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WHYY's News and Information Community Exchange

The Knight-Lenfest Fund initiated N.I.C.E. as a collaboration between WHYY and community partners to organize, support, and develop a network of grassroots news and information content creators in Philadelphia. Led by a team that reflects community diversity, N.I.C.E. and its partners share coverage, sources, expertise, and audiences.

Learn more about N.I.C.E. Learn more about N.I.C.E.
News Catalyst

News Catalyst provides tools, fosters collaboration, and promotes experimentation to help news organizations transform into sustainable digital businesses. It focuses on historically underdeveloped aspects of newsrooms such as product development, data, analytics, digital storytelling, mobile and engagement.

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Beyond Print

Beyond Print is a program created by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism and The American Press Institute to help guide publishers away from print-centric revenue models toward a sustainable digital future. The new initiative will allow news organizations to review their dependence on print revenues and create digital-first products and workflows.

Beyond Print Beyond Print

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