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The Lenfest Institute is home to communities of practice serving various types of journalism professionals and organizations.
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The Lenfest Institute’s Communities of Practice (CoPs) are peer-to-peer learning networks for leaders and practitioners in local news. Our largest CoPs are open to individuals across the field, fostering broad peer exchange and shared resources. Smaller communities serve specific constituents such as statewide and citywide news organizations, Knight communities developing local Press Forward chapters, or major metropolitan newspapers.
Each community provides space for strategic learning, peer connection, open data sharing, and collective problem-solving — all with the goal of strengthening the future of local journalism. All Communities of Practice are free to join.
The News Philanthropy Network is designed to support and build capacity for fundraising and development professionals in journalism through workshops, coaching, and peer-to-peer learning.
Participation in the Network is free and open to publishers of all sizes and business models.
The Audience Community of Practice provides support for audience development news professionals who are at the forefront of deepening relationships and expanding the reach of their journalism.
In addition to providing tactical programming and connecting members, The Lenfest Institute helps members with strategic and operational questions of building teams and defining roles. The community is free to join and open to news professionals working in the world of audience engagement and development.
The Statewide News Collective supports the exchange of expertise and other collaborations among a growing group of independent statewide news organizations. Its membership currently includes 37 publishers representing 29 states.
Publishers interested in joining the Statewide News Collective are invited to fill out an interest form or to email [email protected] with questions.
Engaged Cities is a learning community for news organizations committed to putting community engagement at the center of journalism in their city. The highly collaborative group works together to tackle common challenges, share innovative approaches, and serve as a sounding board for peers. Publishers interested in joining the Engaged Cities community are invited to fill out an interest form.
The Local Independent News Coalition is an invitation-only community of eight independent metro news organizations: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chicago Public Media (WBEZ and The Chicago Sun Times), The Dallas Morning News, Newsday (Long Island, New York), The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Seattle Times, The Minnesota Star Tribune, and The Tampa Bay Times.
The Knight Communities Network is a community of practice to support local journalism funders working to build sustainable news ecosystems in their communities.The eight participating cities are launching Press Forward chapters and are each home to former Knight newspapers and Knight Foundation community support: Lexington, Ky.; State College, Pa.; Tallahassee, Fl.; Charlotte, N.C.; Gary, Ind.; Miami, Fl.; Wichita, Kan.; and Philadelphia.
