Central Valley Journalism Collaborative Receives $1 Million Grant from the James Irvine Foundation

Grant will strengthen quality local journalism, boost civic engagement and expand philanthropic investment throughout the Central Valley

MERCED, Calif., Dec. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Central Valley Journalism Collaborative (CVJC) is honored to be the recipient of a $1 million grant from the James Irvine Foundation. CVJC will foster a community-oriented journalism ecosystem in California's Central Valley that grows newsroom jobs through hiring local journalists, encourages cooperation among newsroom partners, and reinvigorates quality local news coverage needed to enhance civic life. The grant will focus on building local news ecosystems in Stockton and Fresno, two significant communities where diminishing local news coverage has opened voids increasingly vulnerable to misinformation and disinformation.

Over two years, the grant from the James Irvine Foundation will support the CVJC's work to strengthen the local media ecosystem, working with existing, new, and emerging partners in Fresno and Stockton to build innovative journalism projects that amplify diverse voices while focusing on issues most important to local communities. The work is an extension of efforts underway to establish a local newsroom in Merced as a hub for a network of Valley-focused journalistic newsrooms, projects, and journalists.

Launched by the James B. McClatchy Foundation (JBMF) in 2021, CVJC is a new nonprofit infrastructure dedicated to keeping public service journalism thriving in California's Central Valley as wide disruption in the media industry has led to the erosion of traditional newsrooms over the last 15 years.

"We are inspired by this partnership with the James Irvine Foundation to center the Central Valley as a regional model through the CVJC to preserve local news, journalism jobs, and support the next generation of newsmakers from the communities of Stockton and Fresno," said Priscilla Enriquez, Chief Executive Officer of JBMF.

"The need to preserve local news and journalism jobs is paramount as changes in news ownership have diminished local control of coverage, resulting in fewer reporters covering their communities and residents being left in the dark about events and issues affecting their lives," said CVJC Editor-in-Chief Michelle Morgante.

The Irvine grant, in partnership with grant investments from JBMF and other funders, will support the growth and capacity of CVJC as the vehicle and hub to build sustainability for local news.

"We are proud to support CVJC's efforts to ensure residents and future generations have access to quality local journalism that reflects their voices and spurs engagement on critical local issues," said Jessica Kaczmarek, Initiative Director for Irvine's Priority Communities initiative.

Led by Morgante, a veteran journalist who is a native of the Central Valley, the collaborative pools the collective skills and knowledge of locally based journalists and newsrooms to amplify local voices, draw attention to local issues and build connections with Valley communities in order to strengthen civic engagement.

As a sunsetting foundation, JBMF is committed to supporting a multiracial democracy in the Central Valley by centering multilingual students and families, promoting the next generation of inclusive leaders, and advancing community-powered local journalism for the future.

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SOURCE Central Valley Journalism Collaborative