WFYI, IPB Awarded Press Forward Funding

WFYI, IPB News receives $100,000 in initial round of national funding from Press Forward.

INDIANAPOLIS – WFYI and the sixteen other Indiana Public Broadcasting stations that make up IPBS have received $100,000 in funding to support their statewide news collaboration known as IPB News. 

The IPB News collaboration is one of 205 small, local news outlets - including one in every U.S. state - that are receiving a share of $20 million to close persistent coverage gaps, thanks to funding from Press Forward, the nationwide movement to strengthen communities by reinvigorating local news. 

Funding from Press Forward will support the statewide reporting collaboration, which is a non-profit newsroom committed to increasing access to community-responsive news, information and resources. IPB News launched in 2015 and includes all Indiana NPR and PBS stations and reaches 95 percent of the state through terrestrial airwaves, from urban centers to farming communities to rural manufacturing and coal regions. Partnerships with stations in Ohio and Kentucky reach the remaining 5 percent of Hoosiers.

"Our objective is to serve as a reliable source of relevant, trustworthy information, empowering the people of Indiana with the knowledge they need to foster informed and civically engaged communities across the state," said WFYI Public Media President and CEO, Greg Petrowich. "In today's landscape of widespread division and misinformation, we center our journalism on uncovering truths, ensuring equity, and providing factual, balanced reporting." 

Funding from Press Forward will provide critical operational support, enabling the collaborative newsroom to strengthen statewide partnerships, bridge gaps in news coverage, and amplify local journalism. 

Press Forward grant recipients are a mosaic of independent, non-partisan sources reimagining what local news looks like across America.

“These newsrooms are proof that we are seeing a moment of transformation, where new and longstanding are stepping up to create a new story for local news,” said Dale R. Anglin, Director, Press Forward. 

Peers include newer nonprofits - some launched as information needs became evident during the pandemic - and enduring for-profits continuing to adapt and innovate after a century in business. Some newsrooms are reporting on the vast American countryside - where they are often the only news source for hundreds of miles - while other outlets are covering people of color and linguistically diverse communities that traditional news sources have overlooked.  

A searchable database listing all recipients is at pressforward.news/grantees. For more information on IPBS and its member stations, visit ipbs.org.

Each produces the everyday stories people need to make decisions about their daily lives.

About Press Forward

Press Forward is a nationwide movement to strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information. Press Forward’s growing coalition of 60+ funders has committed to invest more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scale infrastructure the sector needs to thrive. Press Forward is housed at The Miami Foundation. For more, visit pressforward.news.

About IPBS

Indiana Public Broadcasting News is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that provides in-depth, long form coverage of vital issues facing the citizens of Indiana. IPB News covers a range of topics across multiple reporting beats, including government and politics, health, environment and energy, labor and employment, and education. It distributes broadcast and digital reports to nine public media stations in Indiana and throughout the country for National Public Radio. IPB News has been in existence since 2015 and has been underwritten by generous grants from Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and others.

About WFYI Public Media

Since 1970, WFYI Public Media has served Central Indiana with its nonprofit public radio and TV stations, digital content and community engagement activities. With a mission to provide trusted journalism, inspiring stories and lifelong learning to Hoosiers of all ages and walks of life, WFYI broadcasts original content, as well as PBS and NPR programs, on three television channels, five radio services — including WBAA — and online. Metropolitan Indianapolis Public Media (MIPM) is the parent organization of WFYI Public Media. Learn more at wfyi.org and follow WFYI online on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X/Twitter.