Ahead of its annual Knight Media Forum this week, the foundation has announced more than US$4 million in support to help black publishers become more financially sustainable.

The announcement comes after long-time support for diverse communities, and aligns with its strategy to help journalists, publishers and newsrooms increase trust, reach diverse audiences and generate sustainable revenue models.

Among projects are US$1.3 million to expand the Knight x LMA BloomLab program in 26 black-owned local news outlets, as well as startup networks Capital B and URL Media, and the International Women’s Media Foundation’s Gwen Ifill Mentorship Program to increase newsroom leadership diversity.

The foundations’s vice president of journalism Jim Brady says the investments show just how important continued support for publishers of colour remains in the industry. “Many legacy black newspapers remain trusted voices in their communities, but have struggled as more Americans get their news from digital sources,” he says in the foundation’s announcement.

“Supporting legacy newsrooms and nurturing startup networks run by innovative leaders shows our commitment to publishers of colour, helping Knight better serve the information needs of these communities.”

Projects with which Knight has partnered include:

Knight x LMA BLOOM Lab at the Local Media Association (US$3.2 million) to expand its successful lab for black-owned media outlets to include 26 publishers over the next three years. The lab is a digital transformation program that helped its first five participating newspapers more than triple digital revenues with assessment, training and coaching. Each news outlet will receive $50,000 to support their work. The Knight investment enabled the lab, led by LMA chief content and collaboration officer Andrew Ramsammy, and LMA chief operating officer Jay Small to hire three full-time employees, where they will provide expert advice on smart technical and digital business strategies.

Capital B (US$500,000) to launch a new black-led nonprofit news outlet serving local black communities. The Knight investment will help Capital B – which has already raised US$9 million – hire a new audience director and membership director. The startup launched its first bureau in Atlanta, with plans to launch future bureaux in other cities with large black communities. According to a 2021 study by CUNY’s Center for Community Media, black publishers are six times more likely than non-black publishers to write about subjects of importance to black communities, such as health disparities, voting access, policing policies and racial justice.

URL Media (US$250,000) to support an expanding network of ten black, indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC)-owned news organisations, unlocking access to national revenue streams and audience growth. The Knight investment will help them hire more staff to scale operations, pilot a new advertising network, and increase audiences. URL Media plans to identify the most pressing business challenges facing BIPOC news outlets and provide solutions to improve reach, revenue, and sustainability.

International Women’s Media Foundation (US$200,000) to increase newsroom leadership diversity through fellowships for 20 women and non-binary journalists, primarily black and hispanic, through its Gwen Ifill Mentorship Programme. The program aims to increase diverse representation at the leadership levels by providing early-career mentorship opportunities, laying the groundwork and building networks for future news leaders to accelerate their careers.

Publisher of the New York Amsterdam News Elinor Tatum says the LMA Lab support has helped them significantly grow digital revenue and audience, especially around newsletters and promotions. “The Knight x LMA Bloom Lab will help take our transformation to a whole new level.”

LMA chief executive Nancy Lane says the group has helped nearly 100 BIPOC organisations with business transformation, monetisation and audience-building strategies since establishing sustainability for publishers of colour as one of its four core pillars in 2018.

“With the Knight x LMA BloomLab we will be able to provide unprecedented resources, specifically focused on technology, to a group of 26 black-owned-and-operated media organisations.

The grants complement Knight’s US$300 million, five-year commitment to invest in new initiatives capable of underpinning “a fresh future” for local news and strengthening journalism.