IRE partnership receives Press Forward funding to train local newsrooms

(July 17, 2025) — Investigative Reporters and Editors will be working with Internet Archive and Poynter Institute on a program to archive and preserve local news, thanks to funding from Press Forward, a national initiative to reimagine local news.

The two-year, $1 million grant will support development of “Today’s News for Tomorrow,” a nationwide program that protects vital local online news content that frequently goes offline when a publication ceases to exist. 

It will help provide infrastructure, preservation services and training for 300 newsrooms and journalists across the country, building community and ensuring digital archiving and perpetual access to their publications, digital assets and other materials for immediate internal needs as well as future community needs.

“It’s commonly said that journalism is the rough draft of history, but often it’s the only account,” said IRE Executive Director Diana Fuentes. “It’s imperative that we safeguard local news archives and access to those archives. We know it takes time and money. IRE is proud to partner with Internet Archive and Poynter to develop a system for best achieving that goal, and we are grateful to Press Forward for its vision in funding this program.”

The funding, announced Tuesday, is part of Press Forward’s Open Call on Infrastructure, which is providing $22.7 million to 22 projects that address the urgent challenges local newsrooms face today. The full list of recipients is available here.

The IRE, Internet Archive and Poynter partnership project was chosen from among more than 550 applications for this phase of Press Forward funding.

“Local news published today will be needed by tomorrow’s journalists, scholars, and everyday residents,” Press Forward said in the announcement.

Internet Archive, a nonprofit organization that operates a worldwide digital library and the Wayback Machine, is taking the lead on “Today’s News for Tomorrow.” Poynter and IRE will work with Internet Archive to develop the curriculum and training for the program.

About IRE: Investigative Reporters and Editors is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative journalism. We provide training, resources and a community of support to nearly 5,000 journalists around the world. Learn more about our work.