The Center for Community Media

How do you turn a $6,000 outreach grant into a $350,000 recurring revenue stream, all while serving local communities and preserving editorial independence? Join the Center for Community Media on Thursday, August 13 at 2 PM ET for a free virtual masterclass: Building Civic Partnerships as a Revenue Strategy for Community Media. We are bringing in Madeleine Bair, Founder of El Tímpano, to break down how civic partnerships became their second-largest revenue source in 2025. Through this model, government agencies, nonprofits, and mission-aligned organizations contract community outlets to distribute vital information to historically underserved populations. In this session, you’ll learn: 1️⃣ The basics of a civic partnerships strategy and how to determine if it's right for you 2️⃣ How to retain editorial independence while earning revenue from civic and nonprofit agencies 3️⃣ The steps to develop a civic partnerships strategy in your organization 📅 Date: Thursday, August 13, 2026 ⏰ Time: 2 PM ET / 1 PM CT / 11 AM PT 📍 Location: Virtual via Zoom (Registration required) 👉 Register here via Luma: https://lnkd.in/ehCZVWBY #CommunityMedia #JournalismInnovation #MediaSustainability #LocalNews #CivicPartnerships #JournalismSupport #CCM #CUNYJSchool

Did you know? 🤔 Across the 23 counties of the U.S.–Mexico border, more than 56% of residents identify as Hispanic or Latino, and nearly 40% speak Spanish at home. Yet, 10 border counties have zero Spanish-language news sources, and philanthropic investment in the region sits at a median of just $0.14 per capita. Moving our sector from isolated survival to collective power starts with closing these visibility gaps. We cannot resource, connect, or advocate for borderland journalists if we don’t first map where they are and what their communities need. That’s why the Center for Community Media (CCM) is proud to partner with SembraMedia on a major project to build a comprehensive map, directory, and knowledge bank of news outlets, independent reporters, and community creators serving both sides of the U.S.–Mexico border. CCM will lead research efforts on the U.S. side of the border, while SembraMedia leads research on the Mexican side. "We are thrilled to partner with SembraMedia, longtime leaders in digital and creator media mapping, to build an innovative and essential new map and knowledge bank of local, hyperlocal and cross-border journalism..." — Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, Executive Director, CCM A special shoutout to CCM’s Kavitha Rajagopalan, who led this initiative on our end alongside the SembraMedia team. Her strategic vision has ensured that hyperlocal, in-language, and cross-border storytelling networks are centered throughout this project. 👏 We also want to acknowledge the MacArthur Foundation for their funding support, which makes this vital ecosystem research possible. 💡 📣 HELP US MAP THE BORDERLANDS 📣 Know a media outlet, independent journalist, or news creator covering the U.S.–Mexico border? Help us make the directory as broad and inclusive as possible by submitting them through our open call form: 👉 https://lnkd.in/e_VxNTpP 📊  Check out the project maps and visuals below! 👇 https://lnkd.in/eUHAwHp2 #CommunityMedia #Journalism #Borderlands #CrossBorderJournalism #SembraMedia #CCM #LocalNews

Huge congratulations to our friends at LION: Local Independent Online News Publishers on releasing a powerful new resource for our sector! Their newly launched Sustainability Audit Dashboard, made possible with support from the Google News Initiative, marks a major milestone for data transparency in independent media. Drawing from nearly 450 local, independent online newsrooms, this interactive, quarterly-updated tool gives the public a look "under the hood" of newsroom operations, financial health, and organizational benchmarks. "LION’s work these last few years leads up to this point. We’re letting the data from hundreds of news businesses speak for itself... It’s the first time the public can really see under the hood of the independent news sector." — Chris Krewson, Executive Director, LION Publishers Key takeaways right out of the gate: 💵 The overall median annual revenue for independent publishers in the dataset is $327,500 ($446,000 for nonprofits vs. $247,000 for for-profits). ⚖️ Nearly three-quarters of news businesses rely on only two or fewer revenue streams that account for more than 15% of their total revenue. 💡 While 69% of news businesses set regular revenue goals, only 45% have a dedicated staff member focused on generating revenue. Whether you are an independent publisher benchmarking your business, a funder looking to make strategic investments, or a researcher analyzing sector trends, this dataset is an invaluable tool for our field. We're excited to see tools like this emerge to help strengthen and inform our broader community media ecosystem! 📊 Explore the Interactive Dashboard: https://lnkd.in/gUn7gpAj 📰 Read the Launch Announcement: https://lnkd.in/eRAARdQR 🎥 Watch the Quick Tutorial: https://lnkd.in/eDxur6Ez #LocalNews #CommunityMedia #JournalismInnovation #MediaSustainability #DataJournalism

"We’re not here to save journalism as is, we’re here to make sure communities are informed." That is how our Executive Director, Jean Friedman-Rudovsky, frames the true purpose of a journalism support organization in a recent Q&A with Will Fischer at the Center for Cooperative Media. The two sat down for a candid conversation about what it actually means to add real value to community and ethnic media without competing for resources with the very newsrooms we are built to serve. Jean talks about her journey from founding local newsrooms to leading CCM, and why she is pushing back against the constant pressure to "scale up" just for the sake of growth. Instead, she is focusing on what a dedicated team can achieve when we shift the focus from individual survival to building collective power. Huge shout-out to Jean for grounding our team's work in this perspective. Take a few minutes to read the full interview: https://lnkd.in/e5E78c6f #CommunityMedia #EthnicMedia #LocalJournalism #JournalismSupport

Behind most great strategic initiatives, there is an expert in process and precision who ensures the work actually moves from vision to reality. For nearly 15 years, Jennifer Cheng has been that indispensable force for The Center for Community Media (CCM) at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Jen is now preparing for a big life transition: a move to Germany. Starting today, she will transition from her full-time role as Manager of Operations and Information Design to part-time consulting with the Center. Jen’s legacy is woven into the DNA of CCM. She joined the team in 2011, even before the Center’s official founding, serving as the Associate Editor for Voices of NY. In that role, she spent years meticulously curating the journalism of the New York City area’s vast community and ethnic publications. This deep immersion gave Jen an unparalleled, brilliant insight into the languages, politics, and priorities of the diverse communities across the region. As CCM expanded its national footprint, Jen stepped in to build the operational and information infrastructure that defined our work. She is a master of information design. If you have ever interacted with CCM's premier interactive maps of various sectors of ethnic and community media, utilized our directories, or read our data-heavy research reports—including the critical analysis behind the Advertising Boost Initiative—you have seen Jen’s precision and intellect at work. Jen was a steady, undeniable shining light for our team; copyediting our newsletters, managing complex technical data, organizing internal documentation, and grounding the Center’s daily workflows with 15 years of deep institutional knowledge. Jen recently shared: “CCM’s mission to strengthen and amplify community and ethnic media has given me the privilege to contribute to meaningful, distinctive, and vital work. I look forward to watching CCM continue to thrive in its new era.” While we will miss her presence in the (virtual) office every day, we are incredibly grateful that her brilliance will remain in our orbit as a consultant. Please join us in thanking Jennifer for her immense contributions to CCM, the Newmark J-School, and the entire community media sector. Congratulations, Jen, on this beautiful new chapter in Germany! 🇩🇪✨ #Journalism #CommunityMedia #InformationDesign #DataAnalysis #MediaResilience #CUNY #OperationalExcellence

Today, we begin a new chapter. 🌟 CCM Executive Director Jean Friedman-Rudovsky just released her vision for the future of our work—a commitment to move the community media sector from isolated survival to collective power. 👉 Read her full LinkedIn post on why we are building the stage so our media partners can hold the mic: https://lnkd.in/eZSuMYmW With the launch of this plan, CCM shifts from focusing on the sustainability of individual newsrooms to strengthening the sector as a whole. We do this by generating shared knowledge, amplifying effective practice, and unlocking transformative opportunities for outlets and creators who are doing reporting by, for, and with the communities they serve. Our work is organized around three core pillars—Analyze, Amplify, and Activate—designed so that insight and shared power flow across all community media. 🚀 To meet this moment, we are also thrilled to grow our internal capacity. Please join us in welcoming our two newest leadership additions, who will be driving these pillars forward alongside our existing team: • 🔹 LaMonte Guillory, Director of Communications Strategy, who is spearheading our brand evolution and leading the vision for our Amplify pillar. • 🔹 Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, Director of Partnerships, who is driving the vision for our Activate pillar to catalyze peer-to-peer learning and unlock field-wide opportunities. 🔗 Explore the complete 2026-2028 Strategic Plan on our website: https://lnkd.in/eNWzrxdn

Today, we begin a new chapter. 🌟 CCM Executive Director Jean Friedman-Rudovsky just released her vision for the future of our work—a commitment to move the community media sector from isolated survival to collective power. 👉 Read her full LinkedIn post on why we are building the stage so our media partners can hold the mic: https://lnkd.in/eZSuMYmW With the launch of this plan, CCM shifts from focusing on the sustainability of individual newsrooms to strengthening the sector as a whole. We do this by generating shared knowledge, amplifying effective practice, and unlocking transformative opportunities for outlets and creators who are doing reporting by, for, and with the communities they serve. Our work is organized around three core pillars—Analyze, Amplify, and Activate—designed so that insight and shared power flow across all community media. 🚀 To meet this moment, we are also thrilled to grow our internal capacity. Please join us in welcoming our two newest leadership additions, who will be driving these pillars forward alongside our existing team: • 🔹 LaMonte Guillory, Director of Communications Strategy, who is spearheading our brand evolution and leading the vision for our Amplify pillar. • 🔹 Elaine Díaz Rodríguez, Director of Partnerships, who is driving the vision for our Activate pillar to catalyze peer-to-peer learning and unlock field-wide opportunities. 🔗 Explore the complete 2026-2028 Strategic Plan on our website: https://lnkd.in/eNWzrxdn

 🚀 NOW HIRING: Head of Product and Data, Center for Community Media 🔗 Apply Here: https://lnkd.in/eS8YABnj  📅 Application Window: May 20 – June 3, 2026 (Closes at 8 PM ET) In the coming weeks, the Center for Community Media (CCM) at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY will publicly launch our new 2026–2028 Strategic Plan—shifting our focus to strengthening the national community and ethnic media field, so that communities have the information they need to thrive. As part of this launch, we will introduce two key new additions to our team. Now, we are excited to fortify this squad by opening a search for an agile and eager Head of Product and Data! We are looking for a new team member who can ethically and responsibly leverage generative AI to streamline our internal workflows, help design the tools behind core pieces of our work – such as our national directories and maps – as well as collaborate closely with the Tow-Knight Center for Journalism Futures, to develop external-facing products that serve the community and ethnic media sector broadly. The person in this newly created role will help be a bridge between emergent tech and the collective strength of those doing impactful community-rooted journalism across the country. If you have a tech mind, a measured perspective on the ethics of AI, and a passion for community media, this is the perfect time to join us. Deadline to apply is 8 PM ET June 3, 2026. 💼 Role Details & Expectations Salary: $100,000–$110,000 annually, depending on experience. Type: Full-time (35 hrs/week) employee of the Research Foundation of CUNY, offering excellent benefits. Location: Remote, with regular team touchpoints: 👉 NYC Metro Area candidates: Expected at the J-School 1–2 times per month for team working days. 👉 Outside NYC candidates: Available to travel to New York City 2–4 times a year (CCM covers travel expenses). 👉 General Travel: A small number of industry conferences per year. 👇 Check out the full details, benefit package, and apply by June 3! https://lnkd.in/eS8YABnj #JournalismJobs #MediaInnovation #GenerativeAI #TechForGood #CommunityMedia #HacksHackers #TowKnightCenter

An inspiring look at the future of our field. The Newmark J-School Alumni Impact Report highlights the incredible reach of our graduates, particularly those dedicated to strengthening community-centered reporting and building deep trust across the country. This is the future of journalism in action!

We are incredibly proud to share the first-ever Alumni Impact Report from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY! 🔗Read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eADfhdUg This report offers a clear look at how our graduates are contributing to the vitality of local and community journalism across the country. From running newsrooms to launching independent outlets, our alumni are deeply connected to the vibrant, diverse voices that represent the heartbeat of our society. They are ensuring that every community has the high-quality, dedicated reporting it deserves. #CommunityMedia #JournalismImpact #NewmarkJSchool #LocalNews