Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group Awards Winners of the 2024 Next Challenge for Media & Journalism
ST. PAUL, Minn, June 3, 2024 – Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group (APMG) has awarded $150,000 in grants to six innovative startups in the 2024 Next Challenge for Media & Journalism. This was the third year of the national competition promoting groundbreaking ideas and trailblazing startups that will reinvent journalism and media over the coming decade. The Next Challenge is the largest startup competition open to nonprofit and for-profit media companies in the U.S.
The 2024 competition was held in partnership with the Knight Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Carlson Family Foundation, and American Public Media Group. The May 22 awards celebration was held at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse at Lincoln Center as part of the Media Impact Forum, a national gathering of funders with a shared vision of a world in which compelling media serves the public interest.
Nearly 400 media startups from across 42 U.S. states and territories began the 2024 Next Challenge application process. Twenty-five percent of this year’s applications were from non-profit organizations, and 55% percent had BIPOC founders. More than 60 volunteer judges experienced in media, journalism, entrepreneurship, and investing helped determine the winners. 31 division finalists received free training and were paired with industry mentors to hone their business plans and prepare for the final judging round.
The winning startups are:
Future of Local Journalism Award: A $30,000 award was given to Borderless Magazine, a newsroom providing free and accessible investigations and essential information to Chicago’s immigrant communities. This award, supported by the MacArthur Foundation, recognizes a local or regional news startup that excels at meeting the information needs of the community it serves or is pioneering a sustainable new business model for local journalism.
Power Platform Award: A $30,000 award given to Recordical, a global network of studios and equipment lockers democratizing audio content creation for news and media. This award, supported by the McKnight Foundation, recognizes a technology startup developing powerful ways to share media content across the country and around the globe.
NewsTech Award: A $30,000 award given to Nota, a company offering assistive AI tools for the news industry. This award, supported by the Knight Foundation, recognizes a startup supporting the productivity and sustainability of newsrooms by providing an essential service using artificial intelligence (AI) and/or other technology.
From among these three division winners, the judges also awarded an additional $30,000 Grand Prize to Nota.
“We are deeply honored to receive the NewsTech award and the Grand Prize from the Next Challenge," said Josh Brandau, CEO of grand prize winner NOTA. “This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team at Nota, who strive to support newsrooms through innovative AI, machine learning, and NLP technologies. We believe empowering newsrooms with cutting-edge tools is crucial for maintaining a well-informed society.”
Three additional awards were announced at the celebration:
Mapping Black California uses data-enhanced investigative reporting to address systemic issues in Black communities. They won the $10,000 Trust in News Award recognizing a finalist building trust in the media by exposing disinformation and deep fakes.
Hark Audio curates the best podcast moments into mixtapes of stories, perspectives and ideas. They won the $10,000 Vision Award recognizing an innovative finalist with a bold vision to reinvent media and journalism.
LOOKOUT Publications, an Arizona news outlet dedicated to accountability journalism for the LGBTQ+ community, won the $10,000 Public Choice Award chosen through an online public voting competition for the most compelling finalist.
“We were thrilled with the startups who entered this year’s competition,” said Jeff Freeland Nelson, executive director of Glen Nelson Center. “We’re excited to see these startups grow and continue to impact the future of media and journalism.”
For more information and to watch the awards celebration, visit thenextchallenge.com.
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About the Glen Nelson Center
Launched in 2018, Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group identifies, elevates, and invests in groundbreaking media ventures led by a diverse group of visionary founders. Connecting startup founders and teams with APMG staff, advisors, and board members informs strategic planning, supports long-term revenue and audience goals and strengthens the APMG innovation culture. For more information, visit GlenNelson.org.
About American Public Media Group
American Public Media Group (APMG) is the largest station-based public radio organization in the U.S., combining multi-regional station operations, national programming creation and distribution and innovative digital, social and mobile services in one organization. APMG’s operations include Minnesota Public Radio® (MPR®), a 45-station network serving nearly all of Minnesota and parts of surrounding states. MPR and its three regional services –MPR News, YourClassical MPR and The Current –produce programming for radio, digital and live audiences. APMG is one of the largest producers and distributors of public radio programming in the world and reaches nearly 16 million listeners with 1,000 public radio stations and over 400 commercial stations nationwide each week. APMG’s national portfolio includes BBC World Service, Marketplace®, APM Studios, and the leading classical music programming in the nation, YourClassical. APMG also includes Southern California Public Radio, a four-station network serving Los Angeles, Orange County, Coachella Valley, and the Inland Empire. For more information – or to become a member and support APMG efforts to reimagine the future of public radio, visit americanpublicmediagroup.org.