Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group launches the fourth annual Next Challenge for Media & Journalism
MIAMI, February 20, 2025 – Today, Glen Nelson Center at American Public Media Group announced the launch of the 2025 Next Challenge for Media and Journalism at the Knight Media Forum hosted by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in Miami. The Next Challenge is a national startup competition seeking groundbreaking for-profit and nonprofit startups that will reinvent the media landscape in the coming decade.
In partnership with Knight Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Press Forward, Carlson Family Foundation, Whaley Family Foundation and Media Impact Funders, the Next Challenge will engage hundreds of startups and award $200,000 in grants to organizations transforming local news, building technology to power future newsrooms, and analyzing publicly-available data to power essential local journalism.
Entries are now open on thenextchallenge.com and will be accepted through March 18.
“As we enter the fourth year of the Next Challenge, we're searching for bold innovators who don't just weather the journalism industry's headwinds – they harness them,” said Jeff Freeland Nelson, executive director of Glen Nelson Center. “We're looking for startups that leverage cutting-edge technology and AI to transform industry obstacles into opportunities as well as pioneering new business models that will strengthen local journalism across the nation.”
This year’s competition is aligned with Press Forward, a national coalition of funders investing more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news, and to scale the infrastructure the sector needs to thrive.
Six prizes totaling $200,000 will be awarded to early-stage media startups in three divisions. The Next Challenge Grand Prize winner will receive a grant of up to $75,000. The divisions are as follows:
The Future of Local Journalism Award will support an innovative startup serving a specific local or regional geography, filling a gap in existing local news services.
The NewsTech Award will support a startup building digital tools to address the critical tech needs of journalists and local news organizations.
The Open-Source Intelligence Award will support a startup leveraging publicly available data to strengthen the fact-finding, verification, and accountability capabilities of local journalists.
“Winning The Next Challenge was a game-changer for Nota. The grant allowed us to significantly up-level our marketing efforts, driving more inbound demand and expanding awareness of Nota as a business. As a B2B AI SaaS company, visibility is everything, and this support helped us amplify our voice in the digital publishing space at a critical time in our growth journey,” said Evan Young, co-founder and COO of 2024 Grand Prize Winner, Nota. “Beyond the financial support, being part of The Next Challenge community allowed us to collaborate with other inspiring finalists, share insights, and support each other in scaling innovative solutions to support the industry.”
“The Next Challenge was a game-changer for Rolli, providing the momentum we needed to secure funding, expand our platform, and forge key industry collaborations,” said Nick Toso, founder and CEO of 2023 Next Challenge finalist, Rolli. “The opportunities it created, both in investment and strategic partnerships, have been instrumental in our growth and impact on the journalism industry.”
The Next Challenge will conclude with a national awards celebration on June 10 at the 2025 Media Impact Forum, the annual media showcase and funder gathering hosted by Media Impact Funders.
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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. Glen Nelson Center programs include The Horizon Fund, which invests in early-stage ventures that have the potential to sustain and grow media and journalism in the coming decade, and The Next Challenge, an annual competition that awards grants to innovative startups reinventing media & journalism. In 2023, Glen Nelson Center joined a coalition of 22 funders across the United States to launch Press Forward, a groundbreaking national initiative aimed at revitalizing and empowering local journalism. 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 15 million listeners across 1,000 public radio 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.
About Press Forward
Press Forward is a nationwide movement to strengthen our democracy by revitalizing local news and information. Press Forward’s growing coalition of 80+ funders has committed to invest more than $500 million to strengthen local newsrooms, close longstanding gaps in journalism coverage, advance public policy that expands access to local news and scale infrastructure the sector needs to thrive. Press Forward is housed at The Miami Foundation. For more, visit pressforward.news.