September 28, 2021

Today the Institute for Nonprofit News publishes the first Index in Focus — a supplement to our 2021 Index report.

While INN’s annual Index reports broadly on the nonprofit news sector, Index in Focus analyzes segments of the data in greater depth, revealing findings about five types of news organizations: those that cover local news, state and regional news, national and global news, single topics, and those that focus on communities of color. (These segments are not mutually exclusive categories).

Key takeaways include:

• Local news was once a small segment of nonprofit news —  but that is no longer the case. A total of 33 local outlets launched from 2018 – 2020, including 11 during the COVID crisis in 2020.
• State and regional news outlets lead the field in developing a revenue mix that balances multiple funding sources.
• While national and global news organizations represent less than one-third of the field, they generate 60% of the field’s total revenue.
• Nonprofit news organizations whose primary mission is serving communities of color have nearly doubled in number since 2017.
• In 2008, there were fewer than a dozen single-topic news outlets. Since then, the segment has expanded at an average rate of three launches per year.

Browse the fact sheets here. Need a physical copy? You can also download a PDF version of all five sheets.