Last Updated on June 19, 2024 by BVN
BVN Staff
The Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub + Fund launched June 3rd at the Redlands Forum with a conversation with Hub + Fund founder and Black Voice News Publisher Dr. Paulette Brown-Hinds and former Executive Editor Dean Baquet on the future of local news and journalism.
“We find ourselves in a time of crisis for local news. Across the country, “brittle” business models have led to smaller newsrooms and fewer reporters in local communities, habits of news consumption have changed, new technologies namely generative Artificial Intelligence, has introduced deep fakes that are difficult to detect but easy to spread, we now talk about news avoidance and news bubbles and then we have consolidation and corporate ownership,” Dr. Brown-Hinds shared during her opening remarks.
The consequences of this decline are profound, with studies showing how local news is essential for fostering informed communities, holding the powerful to account, and promoting civic engagement.
Philanthropy and local donors are stepping up as well, with the largest, most coordinated effort being: Press Forward, a 5-year aligned and pooled fund national initiative launched last year, led by the MacArthur and Knight Foundations aimed at revitalizing local news by investing over $500 million to catalyze a local news renaissance that will reshape the local news landscape and re-center local journalism as a force for community cohesion, civic participation, and government accountability.
Locally, the Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub + Fund is a collective and collaborative initiative designed to support and strengthen local journalism through funding, shared resources, collaborative reporting, and innovative projects. It is being incubated at the Inland Empire Community Foundation and has been seeded by The James Irvine Foundation, Democracy Fund and Google News Initiative (GNI), and a few individual donors.
At the core of the mission of the Hub + Fund is the “Vital Conditions for Thriving Communities” Framework. This Framework, which is being adopted by major institutions and social sector organizations in the Inland Empire to provide a shared language and an actionable organizing structure to build connections and alignment throughout the region, and will help local media provide a shared narrative that all communities need to thrive.
The Fund has also been named a regional chapter of Press Forward. As one of the first two local chapters in California, the Fund will prioritize transformation, center community needs, enable growth and equity and diversity of thought, strengthening local newsrooms that have the trust of local communities, and closing longstanding inequities in journalism coverage and practice.
CSUSB staff and IECF board members attend the Redlands Forum to support the launch of the Journalism Innovation Hub + Fund. 
Redlands Forum organizer Shelli Stockton. 
Dean Baquet, Former Executive Editor, New York Times 
Esri President Jack Dangermond and Hub+ Fund founder Paulette Brown-Hinds. 
Audience member asking a question.
The Press Forward chapter designation comes with monetary support that will allow the Fund to hire a dedicated fund development consultant. The Hub will serve as a central point for collaboration, training, and community engagement, while the Fund will provide financial support to news organizations and partners committed to serving the Inland Empire.
“We will strive to provide the vital information and stories that matter most to improve the civic health of the region. Together, we can reimagine local news and build a stronger, more connected, and thriving Inland Empire,” Dr. Brown-Hinds said during her remarks.
If you are interested in connecting with the Hub + Fund, contact: paulette@voicemediaventures.com.