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60 newsrooms join the third cohort of the GNI Fundamentals Lab for INN Members

March 25, 2024

This April, the third cohort of the GNI Fundamentals Lab for INN Members will begin training in audience development, reader revenue and sponsor advertising thanks to a partnership between the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) and the Google News Initiative (GNI). Over three months, newsrooms will receive personalized audits of their current activities, attend learning sessions and participate in working groups to compare performance and tactics related to each topic area. 

After completing the program, participating newsrooms can submit a plan for how they would apply lessons learned and receive up to $20,000 in funding.

Reflecting on participation in the first cohort, MinnPost’s Advancement Director Laura Lindsay noted, “The GNI Fundamentals Lab gave us direct, actionable, and easy-to-understand suggestions to improve our site for better audience, membership and advertising outcomes. It was also nice to be in a cohort and see that we weren’t alone in needing some improvements and also to gain inspiration from peer organizations. We appreciated the encouraging tone that the facilitators took during the sessions, and we plan to continue to refer to the audits as we move forward in making improvements to our site.”

Since October 2023, a total of 116 newsrooms have participated in the program — with 51 newsrooms in the first-ever cohort and 65 in the second.

News organizations participating in the third cohort:

About 60 news organizations will be selected for each of the six cohorts. The target segments and dates for the next three cohorts will be announced at a later date. 

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