EL CENTRAL Hispanic News is pleased to announce that our media organization has been awarded a $100,000 grant over two years from Press Forward, a project of the Miami Foundation. Our newsroom is one of 205 small, local news outlets – including one in every U.S. state – that are receiving a share of $20 million to close coverage gaps in reporting on communities and regions that have traditionally gone uncovered.
More than 900 proposals were received as part of the Closing Local Coverage Gaps grant application process, the first round of funding by Press Forward, a coalition of funders which is investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms and information, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scales the infrastructure the sector needs to thrive.
EL CENTRAL publisher and owner Eva Garza Dewaelsche noted the significance of this grant award.
“We are proud to have been selected for this award. This grant will ensure that EL CENTRAL will remain focused on sharing news, features and resources for and about Latinos and other residents of Southwest Detroit and across Michigan for generations to come.”
The Press Forward grant will ensure the sustainability of the partnership between EL CENTRAL Hispanic News and the Race and Justice Reporting Initiative founded and led by award-winning journalist Martina Guzman.
“Supporting local news is critical to a healthy democracy. If we don’t present fact-based news to Detroit’s Latino community, that void will be filled with mis- and disinformation,” Guzman said. “This grant supports not only original reporting but the development of the careers of young Latino journalists who want to enter the field.”
Managing Editor Robert Dewaelsche added, “the funding that we are receiving from Press Forward is more than just a grant. It’s a symbolic gesture that national funders are investing in our news organization and ultimately, in the growing Latino community in our region and state of Michigan.”
EL CENTRAL will recognize the contributions of young journalists, photographers and editors when we publish their works which will be supported by the Press Forward grant over the next two years.
