Championing Local Journalism as a Public Good
Table of contents
Anne Avis
This story is part of the Architects of Impact series, highlighting stories of innovation that demonstrate how our Community is mobilizing to ensure a world that works for all people and the planet.
“For me, journalism is about creating a better quality of life,” says Anne Avis. “It’s investing in community, in trust, and in information that holds power to account.”
Anne’s passion for journalism is decades-deep. She co-chaired the boards of KQED, the public media institution serving California’s Bay Area and Internews, which supported media development for 40 years in over 100 countries. She now serves on the board of Montana Free Press, an independent nonprofit newsroom serving her home state, and Coda Media, a journalism studio investigating the roots and patterns of global transformation. Her commitment spans geographies, but her throughline is clear: journalism is a public good.
A member of Forward Global since 2007, Anne has always driven home the importance of media and journalism in a healthy society. From starting working groups to contributing to our matching grant initiative, she is one of Forward Global’s beacons for supporting journalism.
“I learn from institutional funders and piggyback on the momentum to leverage my own giving,” she says. “I am looking to invest in entrepreneurial news organizations, both new and legacy, that are reimagining local journalism in their communities. Every issue we care about needs journalism as a partner—to inform and set narratives for understanding and action.”
That’s where Press Forward comes in.
Press Forward is a national coalition of funders mobilizing more than $500 million to strengthen local journalism in the United States. Anne welcomed its philanthropic ambition, its commitment to educating donors and belief that journalism is essential to a healthy democracy. She joined the Press Forward coalition early on with a donation to their pooled fund. As a long-time champion of public media and press freedom, Anne hopes Press Forward will catalyze more donors to give to journalism.
Anne has been instrumental in galvanizing Forward Global’s partnership with Press Forward, which began in 2024. She helped shape a Press Forward member working group, bringing together peers who care deeply about civic life and fact-based information. Through this space, members have gained insight into the fragile business of local news, what difference philanthropy can make, and where people are finding (or not) trusted information about their communities. Anne brings her perspective as a longtime board member and donor, as well as a Montana local who cares deeply about the information needs of rural communities.
She hopes that Forward Global’s partnership with Press Forward will galvanize conversations about investing in functioning societies via the trusted information communities need. And, importantly, the value of patient, strategic philanthropy that can drive editorial independence and a healthy democracy.
