Increase in local members and topical news coverage: Highlights from the 2025 INN Index survey

For the first time, local news outlets make up the largest segment of the Institute for Nonprofit News’ member network, which earlier this month reached 500 independent, nonprofit news organizations across North America. 

The percentage of local news outlets in INN’s eighth annual Index survey rose to 51% in 2024 from 48% in 2023. Along with this growth in local outlets, INN sees a larger share of newsrooms (52%) covering current news and events on a range of topics. While more than half of newsrooms in the INN Network still focus on deep, explanatory reporting, the proportion of outlets that focus exclusively on investigative news has declined, to 27%.

The differences are most pronounced when compared over the eight years has tracked the field. In 2017, 39% of INN members focused primarily on investigative reporting, and 19% focused primarily on news and events.

“INN’s roots are in investigative journalism. And while many of our members still produce that kind of in-depth accountability reporting, today they also cover topics like local government, schools, housing, and jobs,” said Karen Rundlet, CEO of the Institute for Nonprofit News, “It’s the type of coverage that’s essential to any healthy, functioning town, or city or county. And local news outlets keep turning to INN to learn how to increase their revenues and their reach.”

The 2025 INN Index survey – which included responses from roughly 400 outlets using year-end 2024 data – indicates INN members are focusing more on regional reporting, with three-quarters covering local, regional, or state news.

A stronger community focus is also evident in the audience engagement tactics that Index respondents reported. Many respondents said they provided resources or guides for voter registration and civic participation (46%), encouraged participation in local government meetings or public hearings (40%), or facilitated discussions or debates on political topics (39%).

The data also indicate outlets are embracing some practices for better operational efficiency and sustainability, such as diversifying their revenue streams, but are slow to implement others, such as succession planning.

The following are more highlights from INN’s 2025 Index: the full report will be released in Fall 2025. 

• Growth in revenue and staffing.
  • From 2023 to 2024, estimated revenue for INN’s digital-first nonprofit news outlets sample grew by 14%, to $680 million, while the number of outlets in the sample grew by 10%.  (This sample excludes INN’s roughly two dozen public media members because of differences in how public media stations track editorial budgets and staffing.) 
  • Respondents from this digital-first sample reported employing more than 4,600 people, including roughly 3,200 journalists.
  • Since 2017, earned revenue has nearly doubled as a proportion of the sample’s revenue. 
• More newsrooms are teaming up for projects. Almost 8 in 10 Index respondents participated in editorial collaborations in 2024.
• Nonprofit newsrooms’ work is getting shared. Index respondents report sharing content with nearly 26,000 media outlets—a sharp increase from 15,000 media outlets in 2024 and nearly four times as high as in 2022. 
• Women are taking the lead. At news outlets in INN’s sample, 53% of executives are women. This seems to run counter to media industry trends: a recent Reuters Institute study of top editorial positions showed that women hold only 38% of these jobs and their presence has dipped in recent years.
• Commitment to diversity continues. Across the entire INN Network, respondents reported that 3 in 10 staffers are people of color, reflecting the composition of the U.S. population. About 60 percent of newsrooms said that covering communities of color is either the primary mission or one of several core priorities.

Increased competition for philanthropic dollars

News organizations, for-profit and nonprofit alike, are navigating a challenging funding ecosystem that includes greater competition for a limited pool of philanthropic funders. To survive in that reality, news outlets must have multiple revenue streams. Most newsrooms in INN’s sample do. 

Foundation funding still makes up a significant portion of Index respondents’ revenue (49%) but that portion has notably declined from 57% in 2017. Individual donations account for nearly a third of their revenue, at 32%. Meanwhile, 18% of respondents earned revenue from sources such as advertising and events. In 2024, 58% of members earning at least 10% of their revenue from earned income were local outlets.

News outlets in INN’s sample are diversifying their revenue streams, but many respondents indicate their organizations may not be prepared for significant leadership changes. More than three-quarters said their organization has no succession plan. 

INN offers a range of programs and resources to help news organizations learn about policies and practices that foster sustainable growth. The organization facilitates peer networking for its members via the Pods benchmarking data program, which connects newsrooms of similar size and scope, and maintains successful fundraising training efforts, such as INN’s NewsMatch and Network Philanthropy Center. Last year, for the third consecutive year, INN members participating in NewsMatch raised more in matching gifts from their communities than they received from INN’s collective matching-gift pool, indicating that these nonprofit news organizations are shifting their reliance from national to local sources of funding. 

On May 13, 2025, INN’s board of directors reviewed and accepted a new round of applicants to INN, bringing the total number of members to 500 nonprofit news organizations. These outlets produce 24,000 stories per month ranging from hyper-local to global in scope. The public can search for INN Network outlets covering particular cities, states and topics of interest at FindYourNews.org.