Defending democracy: How Democracy Fund is supporting local journalism throughout the 2024 election cycle and beyond

Democracy Fund was a Bronze Sponsor of the 2024 Independent News Sustainability Summit. LION is profiling all Summit sponsors with a Q&A to help members learn more about their work.

Hayley Milloy, LION Publishers: What is your 30-second elevator pitch (or 75-word pitch) to a LION member on what Democracy Fund does?

Teresa Gorman, Democracy Fund: Democracy Fund supports the champions of our democracy, including movement leaders, activists, advocates, journalists, and public officials. We have a vision that one day, people all across America will be able to exercise and build their power fueled by local reporting that equips people for civic action. To get there, we support work that will lead to a transformed local news and information landscape and an explicitly anti-racist public square, led by people who have historically been marginalized in our media and our democracy. Our investments focus on that vision and include support for innovative newsrooms that center people of color, local news ecosystems, coalitions of networks and changemakers, and more. We also know we can’t do it alone, so we regularly partner with other funders through efforts like Press Forward, the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund and NewsMatch, and encourage other funders to join us in investing in journalism.

Hayley: And what do you do at Democracy Fund? Why did you join the team?

Teresa: I am an associate director and lead of our Equitable Journalism portfolio. I’m lucky to get to work with an amazing team who have done so much for the field, are supportive partners to our grantees, and so much more. Before Democracy Fund, I worked at a bunch of grant-funded projects that were working to transform public media. Through those projects, I saw how hard it was to make change happen long-term when engagement and equity were contingent on grant funding and not core to an organization’s mission. Working at Democracy Fund, I can think longer term and help connect dots and networks to make everyone stronger. We’re all pretty lucky to get to do that.

Hayley: What’s a recent success story you’d like to share about how Democracy Fund has helped a LION member prepare to cover the 2024 elections?

Teresa: It’s been really exciting to see efforts bringing together networks of newsrooms, training, and dollars so that many newsrooms in an ecosystem can be better prepared to cover elections every year, not just 2024. For example, in Colorado, many LION members are part of the community listening initiatives Voter Voices and Above the Noise via our grantee Colorado Media Project. They’re able to first ask voters what they want to know, and follow through on it using the Citizen’s Agenda model. Many of Colorado’s newsrooms have also received training from Hearken and Election SOS, and participated in Democracy Day. It’s also important to acknowledge how challenging things are for newsrooms, which I know are stretched and at capacity. That’s why they also need support, like lawyers to back them up (like they do in Colorado), thanks to RCFP, and safety and security training from places like IWMF and Pen America.

Hayley: What’s one actionable, practical, low-lift tip you want to share with LION members for covering the election?

Teresa: First, take advantage of the resources Election SOS and the Knight Election Hub are offering, including free tools and coaching from talented people, such as Ariel Zurilnick. Remember — many states already have ballots out, so voter guides should be accessible now, not in November!

Second, a bonus tip —  take care of yourself as much as you can. This is a marathon — not a sprint. Resources like The Dart Center are there for you as a start. And if you’re a newsroom leader, make sure you are helping staff use those resources.

Hayley: What’s one question you think the independent news industry — our members, vendors, support organizations like us, and funders like you — should be asking about the future of doing this work?

Teresa: What do we want our communities to look like 100 years from now, and what are we doing now to help plant the seed for that to happen? This transformation won’t happen right away, but every step counts.

Hayley: What’s the best way for LION members and others to learn more about Democracy Fund?

Teresa: Check out more information about us on our site, and subscribe to the Local Fix to get updates from our team, including highlights of great work happening in local news.