The Associated Press and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced they will work together to ensure AP’s election content and services are accessible to local newsrooms in battleground states ahead of the U.S. presidential election.
Select nonprofit and local newsrooms in key states, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada that are members of the Institute for Nonprofit News and Local Independent Online News Publishers, qualify.
INN and LION members interested in receiving AP’s election content and services at no charge should sign up online.
AP will collaborate with LION and INN on the portfolio of content and services that will be offered to local newsrooms so they can better provide their audiences with fact-based, nonpartisan news on the upcoming elections.
“For over 175 years, AP’s vote count, race calls and coverage have allowed newsrooms across the U.S. to tell the full story of the run-up to Election Day and inform their communities about the results,” said AP Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace. “With funding from the Knight Foundation, we are thrilled to expand access to this crucial information to local outlets, equipping these newsrooms with the tools they need to inform citizens with election facts.”
“Our hope is that this support not only will provide voters with the information they need to make informed decisions in November, but that it also provides news organizations with the boost they need to sustain their capacity to engage communities well into the future,” said Knight Foundation President and CEO Maribel Pérez Wadsworth.
“Members of the INN Network regularly do the most consequential journalism around, and are sometimes the only source of accurate, independent coverage in a community,” said Jonathan Kealing, chief network officer of the Institute for Nonprofit News. “This collaboration with AP will allow them to augment their own essential local coverage with the AP’s vast array of election reporting and resources to benefit their communities.”
“LION members are already doing the hard work of covering elections at the national, state and especially the community level, and gaining access to the breadth of resources produced by The Associated Press will be a shot in the arm during this crucial election season,” said Chris Krewson, executive director of LION Publishers. “Our members are deeply connected to the communities they are covering and it’s crucial to support their efforts to provide high-quality news and information so communities can make informed decisions at the polls.”
The initiative is limited to INN and LION members whose annual revenue does not exceed $5 million.
This effort builds on AP’s work to support the local news ecosystem in an election year, including an effort with INN and the Google News Initiative to make election results and graphics available to qualifying INN members.
About AP:
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization dedicated to factual reporting. Founded in 1846, AP today remains the most trusted source of fast, accurate, unbiased news in all formats and the essential provider of the technology and services vital to the news business. More than half the world’s population sees AP journalism every day. Online: www.ap.org
About Knight Foundation:
We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and in American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. KF.org
About the Institute for Nonprofit News:
The Institute for Nonprofit News strengthens and supports more than 450 independent news organizations in a new kind of news network: nonprofit, nonpartisan and dedicated to public service. From local news to in-depth reporting on pressing global issues, members of the INN Network tell stories that otherwise would go untold — connecting communities, holding the powerful accountable and strengthening democracy. INN programs help these news organizations develop revenue and business models to support strong reporting, collaborate on editorial and business innovation, share services and advance the diverse leaders who are forging a new future for news.
About LION Publishers:
LION (Local Independent Online News) Publishers is a national nonprofit association that strengthens the local news industry by helping independent news publishers build more sustainable businesses. LION focuses primarily on the business side of news entrepreneurship, as many other support organizations exist to help publishers level up their journalism skills. Our role at LION is to help our 570+ members in the U.S. and Canada build and run better news businesses.
