The three groups in the Blue Digital Media Fund:

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Courier Newsroom

Courier started as an online distribution channel in 2017 and moved into the news field when they couldn't find enough content to distribute. Courier has built 11 state-based online newsrooms - ‘flagship ‘papers’ - in battleground states. Aimed at politically disengaged folks, their approach to non-voters, independents, cynics is through hyper-local news focused on issues such as bad sidewalks, high school sports, and local festivals. They include stories with a political bent into this mix. They’ve built long-term relationships with their communities and have become trusted messengers since they're not seen as fundamentally political and/or voice pieces of elected officials. Their staff have become locally-known celebrities of a sort. They’ve carefully and intentionally acquired readers using voter files with emphasis on the ‘murky middle’. 

 

Courier has a total weekly audience reach of close to 70 million people across all platforms, and has become the source of progressive news for social media. They are currently the 3rd largest media organization on Tik Tok. They translate news content into engaging and digestible pieces, for use on various digital platforms. They provide content in places where folks don’t go for news yet receive news without knowing it. They create a lot of the source material used by other groups, elected officials, etc. 

 

Force Multiplier is supporting Courier’s Core Accountability Beat in Michigan. This beat will hold federal legislators accountable by telling stories of the ways that their votes and the Administration’s policies are affecting everyday Americans through highlighting local impact to people’s wallets, their health care, public education, the environment and their local workforce. 

 

Onyx Impact 

The threat of manipulated information, designed to target specific communities, has never been greater. In 2023-24 the Right inundated the Black community online with information designed to divide the community, reduce trust in institutions, and suppress civic engagement while Democratic messaging in those online sites was almost absent. Founded in late 2023 by a veteran of Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight, Onyx Impact aims to serve and empower Black communities by fighting the harmful information ecosystems targeting them. 

Force Multiplier is supporting their Black Media Amplifier, a distribution engine that scales culturally relevant, truth-based content. This will be a powerful content delivery system that ensures progressive Black messages don’t just exist—they thrive in the digital algorithm. They will map out the Black online cultural landscape and use that as a distribution map for content delivery across various Black online communities. They will provide Influencers with everything they need including talking points, research, and production support to ensure that they are in the best possible position to make an impact on the largest possible audience in these Black online spaces. They aim to reach 80-100 news, culture, and lifestyle amplifier accounts garnering up to 15 million monthly views and 1000 weekly posts. They also aim to partner with Black culture platforms to include a short, sponsored ‘news’ segment.

 

We Are Chorus

Chorus supports progressive and pro-democracy content creators to expand their reach and educate their audiences about everything happening in the White House, in Congress, and in their own communities. They ensure content creators and policy-makers alike are learning the best practices when it comes to discussing these critical issues and the impacts that they have on everyday Americans.

 

Chorus represents a new approach to tackling the challenges of reaching a broad audience in today’s fragmented media landscape. Chorus’ network is composed of influencers focused on fashion, food, fitness, beauty, sports, comedy, parenting, and news who want to integrate issues and politics into their content, which will reach more people authentically.

 

Chorus recruits, trains, and supports these thousands of high impact content creators who want to elevate essential issues and infuse news into culture.

 

Chorus is currently launching its Creator Incubator Program to support emerging progressive voices and is in the process of onboarding a first cohort of 75 content creators. Under the Program, members of the cohort will be mentored on how to engage more people, improve production values, and/or translate their message from one platform to another. Force Multiplier is mobilizing support to ensure Chorus has the resources to train and mentor the second cohort of up to 100 creators.