We Won A Grant | Defector
Keen observers of the independent media space might be aware that we at Defector have done some informal consulting over the years to help other emerging worker-owned publications find their footing. Without overstating our contributions to their efforts—generally we’re providing just an hour or two on the phone, and a couple email responses—we always find that work to be very gratifying, and as we mentioned in last fall’s Defector Annual Report, we’ve long hoped that we would be able to provide more structured and systematic support to other collectives of journalists.
At that point in time, we had already linked up with Start.coop, a non-profit focused on accelerating shared ownership, and The Media Economies Design Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, and were working on grant applications.
Today, we’re happy to share that Press Forward, a coalition of funders committed to strengthening local newsrooms, has awarded our group a grant to build shared services for independent, worker-friendly local media organizations. Imagine a hub that small independent newsrooms could access to save money on back-office services (e.g., bookkeeping, HR, legal) and save time through shared training, tools, and best practices.
We aren’t quite ready to start yet. We’ll need some time to figure out the how and when and with whom of launching the program. In the meantime, you can read more about our partners, our goals, and how to get involved, at this page. And don’t be shy about reaching out to Jasper directly with ideas and advice.
