Our Why

At the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, we don’t just think about what’s at stake—we think about what’s possible.

A resilient, connected news and information ecosystem is essential to a functioning democracy. We know that accurate and accessible local journalism disrupts mis/disinformation, enables accountability, encourages civic participation, and builds community.

Since our founding in 2017, we’ve witnessed powerful hurricanes, a global pandemic and racial reckoning, mounting threats to our democracy, and local responses to these crises that have helped our communities through them. These challenges–along with the increasing instability of the media industry–have only underscored how necessary it is to invest in a range of organizations that fill reporting gaps left by newsroom contraction, repair broken trust with audiences, build on long-standing community strengths, and serve people across race, class and geography.

The work ahead isn’t just about addressing recent issues, though—it’s also about investing in existing assets, transformative approaches, community service, and place-based leadership.

We believe in a resilient and inclusive North Carolina:

• Where all communities in North Carolina have access to relevant and reliable information that informs their daily lives and empowers them to hold systems, government leaders, and institutions accountable. That means every community across race, class, and geography, and every person—whether their family has called North Carolina home for generations, they’re new to the state, or they’re here part of the year as a migrant farmworker.

• Where trusted sources reflect the communities they serve—amplifying stories that are part of the fabric of the community, and making that fabric stronger.

• Where a wide range of trusted communicators play complementary roles in building informed, connected communities —from libraries to community organizations to newsrooms of all types.

• And where sharing lessons learned and industry insights bolsters our news and information network to take risks and test innovative ideas.

By investing in news and community organizations that tell vital, overlooked stories and fill information gaps, the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund is transforming the local media landscape throughout the state—which in turn leads to more informed and connected communities.