Wave to participate in national journalism lab

Wave Staff Report 

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Wave is one of 16 news organizations in the country and the only one in California selected to participate in the fourth cohort of Local Media Association’s Lab for Journalism Funding. 

The lab is designed to help local news organizations develop and execute strategies to fund essential local journalism via philanthropy. The six-month intensive lab runs from May through November 2023.

The lab, a program of Local Media Foundation, is operated with continued support from the Google News Initiative. 

Since its launch in September 2020, the lab has trained and coached 70 publishers, helping them raise more than $17.7 million to fund community service journalism. Local Media Association has published a 42-page report, Pathways to Philanthropy, to share lessons learned and best practices with the news industry.

“We are excited by the diverse set of local journalism projects this cohort seeks to fund,” said Frank Mungeam, chief innovation officer at Local Media Association and Local Media Foundation. “Their commitment to serving their communities is clear, and we are excited to share the learnings from our fundraising lab to enable them to grow and sustain their journalism.”

“During a time of racial discord and conflict in much of America, a vibrant Black Press is needed now more than ever,” said Gregory J. Huskisson, vice president of content and audience for Equal Access Media, parent company of The Wave. “We believe the LMA Lab will help us acquire the tools and resources needed to bolster our foundation and, ultimately, advance our mission of providing empowering information that helps our readers live happier, healthier and more productive lives.”

“The Google News Initiative works to support a thriving local news ecosystem, and we are excited for this fourth cohort of news publishers in the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding to develop new, sustainable funding sources for their essential local journalism,” said Chrissy Towle, head of Associations and Ecosystems, Americas at Google.