India Currents is among eight newsrooms selected for the inaugural cohort of the Maynard Institute’s Fire Up Entrepreneurship Program, aimed at enhancing local journalism sustainability in California.
The Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education has announced the inaugural cohort for its Fire Up Entrepreneurship Program, which includes India Currents as one of eight participating newsrooms serving California.
This program offers each newsroom seven months of comprehensive training focused on revenue generation, product development, and community engagement. In addition to training, each organization will receive mentorship for their proposed projects and a grant of $20,000 to support their initiatives.
The project ideas presented by the participating newsrooms are diverse and impactful. They range from highlighting untold Black stories to providing free bilingual news coverage in the Central Coast region, as well as addressing the challenges posed by artificial intelligence to audience engagement.
Fire Up is part of the Propel Initiative, which aims to strengthen California’s multilingual media ecosystem. The initiative is designed to ensure the sustainability of public service journalism, particularly in underserved communities.
The eight news organizations selected for this inaugural cohort include Bay City News Foundation, Daylight San Diego, India Currents, El Informador del Valle, El Latino Central Coast, MindSite News, Nowruz Media, and Observer Group Newspapers of Southern California.
This initiative is made possible through a budget allocation from the State of California, reflecting a commitment to support local news, safeguard democracy, and promote civic engagement by ensuring that all citizens have access to quality journalism. The journalism organizations involved in this cohort serve audiences across the state, covering 26 Assembly districts and 12 Senate districts.
According to India Currents, participation in the Fire Up Entrepreneurship Program represents a significant opportunity for these newsrooms to enhance their operations and better serve their communities.