GREEN BAY – In a demonstration of continued dedication to bolstering local journalism in northeastern Wisconsin, Microsoft, alongside the Greater Green Bay Community Foundation, the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region, and the Green Bay Packers, has renewed its commitment by pledging $135,000. This financial support will further sustain the Northeast Wisconsin Journalism Initiative, notably the Northeast Wisconsin (NEW) News Lab, following a successful three-year run that reached over 23 million people.
Mary Snapp, Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Microsoft, announced the partnership’s extension on Thursday, highlighting the collaboration between Microsoft, community foundations, and the Green Bay Packers. The NEW News Lab is a collaborative effort involving key media outlets such as the Green Bay Press-Gazette, the Appleton Post Crescent, the Press Times, Fox Valley 365, Wisconsin Public Radio, and Wisconsin Watch. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s journalism department serves as an educational partner.
Since its inception in 2021, Microsoft has contributed a total of $900,000 to the Northeast Wisconsin Journalism Initiative. The initiative aligns with Microsoft’s broader strategy of supporting and revitalizing local journalism across the country. NEW News Lab, the fifth piloted program selected by Microsoft, was chosen due to the robust collaboration between community foundations and Microsoft’s existing relationship with the Packers through Titletown Tech.
Initially planned as a three-year pilot program, the NEW News Lab’s success has led Microsoft to extend its funding, marking a positive development in a challenging media landscape. Stories produced by the NEW News Lab are shared freely among the six participating news outlets, fostering a spirit of collaboration. The current focus, a series titled “Families Matter,” delves into the challenges faced by families in northeastern Wisconsin and explores ways to enhance the quality of life in the region.
The infusion of funds into the NEW News Lab has resulted in expanded news coverage, enabling media partners to hire additional reporters and delve deeper into a variety of issues. Notably, the stories produced by the NEW News Lab have been picked up by more than 125 news outlets nationwide, amplifying the impact of local reporting.
At a time when news deserts are on the rise and credible information is dwindling, initiatives like the NEW News Lab play a crucial role in revitalizing local journalism. According to a 2022 report from the Local News Initiative at Northwestern University, over a fifth of Americans live in news deserts, where access to local news is limited. The disappearance of newspapers nationwide is a growing concern, with approximately two newspapers disappearing on average every week.
Mary Snapp of Microsoft emphasizes the broader societal impact of supporting local news, stating, “If you fund news, in a horizontal way you potentially fund programs to mitigate homelessness, to increase school graduation rates because you fund the ability of the newspapers to talk about that to create citizens in a community who are informed.”
By collaborating with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in the NEW News Lab, Microsoft aims to underscore the role of higher education in inspiring the next generation of journalists. The initiative seeks to strengthen local journalism and contribute to the vitality of communities by fostering an informed citizenry. Jim Fitzhenry, the Director of Community Engagement for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, highlights the shared goal of promoting a vibrant democracy, healthy communities, and constructive civic participation. In a positive development, UWGB has reinstated its student newspaper, The Fourth Estate, this year, underscoring the importance of student involvement in filling the information gap and contributing to a robust journalistic landscape.
