• by Ray Schultz , October 31, 2022

Nonprofit news organizations are on the rise. There were 135 launched between 2017 and 2021, a 70% increase, according to the Institute for Nonprofit News. And 42% of all nonprofits now cover local news, versus 20% five years ago.  

The hike was particularly steep in the Southeast, followed by the West, while the Midwest flattened, according to the numbers published in NiemanLab.  

The robust health in this field was clear by the winners of the 2022 LION Local Journalism Awards, presented last Friday, according to NiemanLab.  

Three awards apiece were taken by  Enlace Latino NC, Montana Free Press, and Santa Cruz Local.

Enlace Latino NC serves Spanish speakers in North Carolina (roughly 690,000 people), NiemanLab notes. Montana Free Press is read by Montana residents (1.1 million), and Santa Cruz Local by denizens of metro Santa Cruz, Calif. (267,000). 

In addition, two sites received two awards apiece: Block Club Chicago and Watershed Voice, which covers the Kalamazoo- Battle Creek-portage area of Michigan. 

These five outlets were all founded after 2016. 

“Consider them symbols of the newer, broader generation of local news organizations — and the greater promise they hold for systemic journalistic gain,” NiemanLab writes.